Wetlands serve as an important part of the water cycle. They
can reduce impacts from storm damage and flooding, a vital source of recharge
for groundwater, and help maintain quality in rivers. Wetlands help with water
quality by filtering out pollutants as it traps sediments and absorbs excess
nutrients that could pollute the water. They can also serve as an important
freshwater source for people who rely on unpredictable sources.
Wetlands are important for biodiversity such as: fish, bird,
and plant species. Wetlands are vital to many migratory bird species around the
world. These birds keep the insect population down in the surrounding area
which help farmers from getting their crops eaten.
Wetlands are a very popular tourist spot which helps provide
revenue for businesses nearby as well as aid the economy. People often visit
wetlands to watch the animals, go fishing, boating, or camping nearby. People
also use wetlands for a source of water to farmers in irrigation. Farmers don’t
only use this water for crops, they also use them for livestock as well as
domestic use.
Wetlands also serve as a natural carbon sinks. A carbon sink
is something that has a high ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, some examples are: forests or oceans. Wetlands that are placed along
coastlines have the highest amount of carbon sequestration as well as other
greenhouse gases. Australia and the Amazon are good examples of coastal
wetlands.
RAMSAR is a “Convention on Wetlands and is an intergovernmental
treaty that provides the framework for national action and international
cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.”
There are 169 parties that have signed the contract and over 2,000 Ramsar
sites. There are 195 countries in the world and only 169 countries have signed,
so 26 countries have not signed. It was named Ramsar after the city of Ramsar
in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. The headquarters are in Gland,
Switzerland. The United Kingdom is the country with the highest amount of sites,
but Bolivia is the county with the highest area of wetlands. The parties that
have signed will meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting
Parties (COP). Many other organizations have partnered with them to give
research and information to aid them in saving the wetlands. So far Ramsar has
protected over 490,000,000 acres of wetlands. A wetland is defined as “are
areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial,
permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish
or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does
not exceed six metres.”
Ramsar has its own association in Ohio, the Ohio Wetland
Association. In the United States there are only 37 designated wetlands of
international importance. Ohio contains one of those 37 sites. It is located on
the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park on the campus of
Ohio State’s university campus. This association conducts marsh monitoring
programs, holds fundraisers, and increases awareness of the public. The association
is made up of volunteers and is a
non-profit. Ohio used to have many wetlands
but they have been converted to other land uses over time. The Clean Water Act
has helped to alleviate the pressure on wetlands but there are still problems. 
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