Introduction to the Ramsar Sites Information Service

The Ramsar Sites Information Service provides information on wetlands designated as internationally important under the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971). These wetlands are commonly known as Ramsar Sites. Wetlands International manages and develops the Ramsar Sites Database (RSIS) under contract to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat.

Upon joining the Ramsar Convention, each Contracting Party is obliged by Article 2.4 of the treaty to designate at least one wetland site for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. Sites are selected by the Contracting Parties for designation under the Convention by reference to the Criteria for the Identification of Wetlands of International Importance. The Parties' designations are communicated to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat by means of a Ramsar Information Sheet which provides legal and scientific data on each site and is meant to be updated every six years. The new and updated data on Listed Sites is noted by the Secretariat and copied to Wetlands International for inclusion in the Ramsar Sites Database. [Source: http://www.ramsar.org/index_list.htm]

The on-line Ramsar Sites Information Service consists of several components, and the core component is also called the Ramsar Sites Database. This core Ramsar Sites Database is a searchable database, fully accessible through the internet with a password protected data entry system, and an unprotected reporting system for public use. Other components include the Ramsar Sites Directory and the graphical profiles.

The Ramsar Sites Database

The Ramsar Sites Database is a searchable database, fully accessible through the internet with a password protected data entry system, and an unprotected reporting system for public use. The data included in the database derives from the Ramsar Information Sheet, the Ramsar National Report and/or from Administrative Authority correspondence provided by Contracting Parties. This includes information on wetland types, land uses, threats, hydrological values of the sites etc. The core Ramsar Sites Database is primarily a tool to look at Ramsar Sites across geographic and thematic boundaries, useful and necessary for maintaining an overview of a global network of well over 1300 internationally important wetlands from 138 countries. For example, the core database can answer questions such as:

• How many Ramsar Sites include mangrove wetlands?
• Which Ramsar Sites in North America (or Oceania or...) are identified for harbouring threatened species?
• How many Ramsar Sites over 1,000,000 hectares are there?
• Which Ramsar Sites are cited as threatened by invasive species?
• Which African (or...) countries are Contracting Parties (to the Convention) and how many Ramsar Sites have they designated?

The available information on the subset of sites selected through the "Quick Search" and "Advanced Search" facilities, can be reported in four different ways: a Site Overview, the most recent Ramsar Information Sheet, a CSV export, or by a link to the Ramsar Sites Directory (and available maps linked to the Sites Directory). For more information on how to search the database click here.

The Ramsar Sites Directory

The Sites Directory presents concisely written descriptions of each Ramsar Site in a standard format, primarily taken from the Ramsar Information Sheet. Directory entries include a summary of why the Site is important, and full scientific names of key species recorded. Every Directory entry is available as a web page and also in two other downloadable formats (Word and PDF). A choice of access to the Directory is provided via clickable maps or via country tables.

The Graphical profiles

The graphical profiles include a core set of (thematic) maps and graphical analyses such as maps of the world and each region, showing the current distribution of the Contracting Parties and Ramsar sites or global distribution maps of Ramsar Sites with wetland types which have been identified as being under-represented (eg. coral reefs).

For any comments, suggestions and/or questions on the Ramsar Sites Information Service, please mail to: ellen.dieme@wetlands.org

Use of images (maps, graphs, etc) from the Ramsar Sites Database presentation
- Images created by us can be freely used for non-commercial purposes; please acknowledge the "Ramsar Sites Database".
- Images of official maps posted here may have been either provided by the Ramsar Contracting Party, or the official maps may have been scanned for display purposes by us. In either case the maps have been provided to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat pursuant to the designation/registration of the Ramsar Site, by the Contracting Party concerned. Therefore these maps should not be used outside of this context (i.e. the site as a Ramsar Site), and they should not be used commercially if obtained from this website.