MUSCAT – This year’s celebration is entitled ‘It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration’ to highlight the importance of the measures taken to restore wetlands. World Wetlands Day aims to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and planet. According to United Nations Environment Programme, ‘nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests.

Wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies, and more.’ The official website of World Wetlands Day states that 35% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last 50 years. It is critical to raise national and global awareness about wetlands in order to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them.