World Wetlands Day is a reoccurring event that takes place every February 2nd. It is a great opportunity for us to remind ourselves of the vital role that they play in supporting people’s livelihoods. Not only do these ecosystems serve as important natural barriers to floods and cyclones, but they also serve as reservoirs for fish, crabs, shrimps, and other important food sources for the local communities.
World Wetlands Day marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. The Convention has led to a significant positive impact on how wetlands are valued and conserved around the world. Livelihoods is proud to partner with the Ramsar Convention in this important mission to restore degraded coastal wetlands, redevelop local economies and combat climate change and poverty.
Read more about our five-year partnership with the Ramsar Convention and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) here: http://bit.ly/1dR73nO
Livelihoods is currently carrying out three large-scale mangrove restoration projects: in Senegal, India and Indonesia. The Livelihoods project in Casamance, carried out with our NGO partner Oceanium, has already planted 79 million trees over 10,000 ha. The Livelihoods project in the Sundarbans, carried out with our local NGO partner Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS), has already planted 16 million trees over 5,500 ha. The Livelihoods project in Indonesia, carried out with local NGO partner Yagasu, has already planted 10 million trees over 3000 ha.