News of Government Institutions
2nd February – World Wetlands Day 2009 – Caring for wetlands: an answer to climate change!
Slovenia is one of 159 parties to the Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention; namely, it was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971. Therefore, today we celebrate the 2nd of February – World Wetlands Day. The standing committee of the Ramsar Convention has chosen the following slogan for this year's World Wetlands Day: Caring for wetlands: an answer to climate change!
Wetland is a term marking various living environments that are more or less connected to water. Wetlands include areas of running and standing waters on land or in coastal waters, saltwater or freshwater, on the surface or underground, intermittent or permanent, and natural or artificial in origin. They present a cradle of biological diversity; furthermore, they also perform several other functions that are important for the functioning of ecosystems and welfare of people. In terms of "ecosystem services", wetlands function as reservoirs for drinking water supply, provide numerous natural sources, prevent floods and mitigate climate extremes, purify waste waters and function as a filter for leaching water; moreover, they are popular recreation and relaxation areas that also function as outdoor classrooms…
Furthermore, wetlands also have in common that their existence is endangered. People often do not consider their role as natural reservoirs, their capabilities of water purification, the special living environments they offer and other functions. Filling of wetlands, pollution from waste disposal, land-take or land modification into arable land, are just some of the many human activities affecting the diversity of wetlands.
Slovenia has three internationally significant wetlands: namely, the Sečovlje saltpans, which were, for centuries, the basic driving force of economic development of the coastal area; today the Sečovlje saltpans represent an important area of natural and cultural heritage. The other two significant wetland areas include the Škocjan Caves as the first underground wetland in Europe, which, within the system of the Karst aquifer with its water supplies, also provides water to the wider-area population, and lake Cerknica and its surroundings.
On today's World Wetlands Day, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, in cooperation with the Bird Watching and Bird Study Society of Slovenia, presents our largest brackish wetland - Škocjanski zatok, which is also an example of good cooperation of public-civil partnership.
