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At MEDSEA, we're gearing up as we do every year for the month dedicated to ponds and lagoons: February. World Wetlands Day, or the Global Day of Wetlands, is celebrated annually on February 2nd to commemorate the establishment of the 1971 RAMSAR Convention, the first to recognize the ecological and environmental importance of wetlands and to define criteria for identifying those of priority and international significance. In recent years, the event has been celebrated throughout February in the Mediterranean with conferences, events, exhibitions, and visits, aiming to raise global awareness of the crucial role of wetlands for people and the planet. 

The MEDSEA foundation organizes an annual calendar of themed events. Last year, over forty events were held in Sardinia in collaboration with numerous associations, businesses, and administrations across the region, drawing hundreds of visitors who rediscovered the wetlands in their backyard or took the opportunity to explore them anew! 

This year, we are pleased to renew the invitation to share the stories of all Sardinia's ponds! Therefore, we invite associations, businesses, administrations, and entities to propose offers, menus, visits, activities, extraordinary openings, and themed initiatives in Sardinian cities located within a wetland area throughout February. 

Need ideas? Look at last year's program. 

If you want to organize or suggest something, send your proposal to MEDSEA (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by January 21, 2024, to participate in the shared calendar. 

Your event format should ideally include: 

• Period: FEBRUARY 13-26 
• Where: Mistras Lagoon (9.30-12.30) 
• What: BIRDWATCHING IN KAYAK IN THE MISTRAS LAGOON 
• Organized by: Cooperative XX (possibly in collaboration with...) 
• Target: for everyone, price €30 per person. Min. 4/max. 8 people 
• Attach one or more high-resolution photos for the posters. 

The joint calendar will be promoted through press, social media, and the web on the Foundation's channels. 

IT'S TIME TO RESTORE THE WETLANDS 

This year's World Wetlands Day theme is: Wetlands and Wellbeing for People. Indeed, wetlands are precious treasure chests of biodiversity and natural vitality, serving as green lungs and purifying filters, enhancing the quality of our life, and nourishing the soul with their serene beauty. 

On the official WWD website, you will find all available materials for your lessons, disseminations, promotional cards, numbers, and statistics! 

IN THE LAST 50 YEARS, WE HAVE LOST 35% OF OUR PLANET'S WETLANDS  

In the past fifty years, we have witnessed the loss of 35% of our global wetlands, a decline driven by the mistaken perception of these environments as unnecessary and harmful. However, faced with today's urgent climate crisis, the invaluable worth of ponds, lagoons, lakes, and peatlands has emerged: they are not only essential for mitigating the impacts of climate change through natural approaches but also serve as critical refuges for millions of aquatic and terrestrial species and as vital sources of sustenance for over a billion people on our planet. 

For this reason, it is crucial that all Mediterranean regions, cities, and businesses that have long appreciated the value of these environments and experience them daily, send a strong signal by inviting everyone to discover and learn more about them during World Wetlands Day (February 2) which in Sardinia will last the entire month of February. 

Only by increasing collective awareness and sensitivity towards wetlands will we enhance the sense of protection for these precious environments, a necessary condition for their restoration and preservation. 

SARDINIAN PONDS, HUNDREDS COASTAL AND 9 RAMSAR ZONES 

Sardinia, currently with 9 RAMSAR areas out of 57 identified throughout Italy and comprising 17% of the total national area, is one of the regions with the largest quantity and extent of these significant basins, mostly coastal, including the most recent addition at the mouth of the Rio Posada.