Wetlands are fundamental to global food security and nutrition. They support inland and coastal fisheries and aquaculture, and supply water for crops and livestock production. They also underpin the production of staple foods, particularly in human-made wetlands, such as rice paddies and ponds that have been shaped by generations of traditional knowledge.   

Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services, essential for agrifood systems, including water purification, flood regulation, groundwater recharge, carbon storage and sequestration, which are essential for climate resilience, food security, and rural livelihoods.

This year’s theme, Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage, highlights the deep connections between wetlands and people, calling for urgent action to safeguard these ecosystems as vital ecological and cultural assets for current and future generations.

The Celebration of World Wetlands Day 2026 will coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Italy’s ratification of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, adopted in 1971. The event will be co-organized by the Italian Permanent Representation of Italy to the United Nations, the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), the Lazio Region, the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve, and the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands, with the technical support of FAO. It will be held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and online, on 2 February 2026. This session will be followed by afternoon events at  the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve – Italy’s first Ramsar site.

This year’s theme resonates strongly with FAO’s mandate to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.  Moreover, it underscores the urgent need to protect, restore, and sustainably use wetlands by valuing traditional knowledge as a cornerstone for ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable agrifood systems, in line with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030).

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AGENDA, 2 February 2026, 09:00-11:00 (UTC+1)

08:30 – Opening of the Room 

Welcome coffee 

09:00 – Opening Remarks

• Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary of State for the Environment and Energy Security, Italy
• Zhimin WU, Assistant Director-General and Director of the Forestry Division, FAO
• Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands

09:40 – Session 1: The Universal Value of Wetlands

• Valuing, conserving, restoring and financing wetlands – Hugh Robertson, Chair of STRP, Convention on Wetlands, New Zealand
• Earth observation for the wetland inventories of the future: preview of the first national wetland inventory based on satellite data – Christian Tøttrup, Senior Advisor and EO4WI Project Manager, DHI, Denmark
• Mediterranean wetlands: responses to ongoing crises – Anis Guelmami, Coordinator of the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory, Tour du Valat, France

10:10 – Session 2: Celebrating Natural and Cultural Heritage

• Wetlands: a celebration of nature’s wonder – FAO
• Ramsar wetlands in Italy - ISPRA

10:20 – Session 3: 50 Years of the Convention in Italy

• Thirty years of evolution of the Ramsar Site “Marano Lagunare: Mouth of the Stella River” – Pierpaolo Zanchetta, Biodiversity Service, Directorate for Agrifood, Forestry and Agriculture, Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• The role of the Ramsar Site “Laghi di Preola e Gorghi Tondi” for the restoration of the dried-up ponds and the endemic water turtle population – Stefania D’Angelo, Director of the Laghi di Preola e Gorghi Tondi Oasis, WWF; Susanna D’Antoni, STRP Focal Point for the Convention on Wetlands, ISPRA
• Innovative financial instruments for the protection and restoration of peatlands and other wetlands – Alessandro Leonardi, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Etifor | Valuing Nature

10:50 – Closing Remarks

• Francesco Tomas, Director General for the Protection of Biodiversity and the Sea, Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Italy (tbc)
• Lifeng Li, Director of the Land and Water Division, FAO

An afternoon session will be held from 13:00 to 17:30 at the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve, including a guided visit to Lake Nazzano, one of the first Ramsar Sites established in Italy. View the programme here >>>

Further details on World Wetlands Day are available on the official website here.