Download Significance of the Aberdeen Ramsar Site

Significance of the Aberdeen Ramsar Site
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, 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.
The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular
ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's
member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.
The Convention's mission is "the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and
national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable
development throughout the world".
The Convention uses a broad definition of the types of wetlands covered in its mission, including
lakes and rivers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands and peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and
tidal flats, near-shore marine areas, mangroves and coral reefs, and human-made sites such as
fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.
At the centre of the Ramsar philosophy is the “wise use” concept. The wise use of wetlands is
defined as "the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation
of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development". "Wise use" therefore
has at its heart the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources, for the
benefit of humankind.
The Aberdeen Ramsar site is among the 2160 sites in the world and Sierra Leone is among the
168 signatory counties to the convention. Sierra Leone signed the convention in 13th April 2000.
Sierra Leone has a total Ramsar site of 295000 hectares and housed 19% of the total mangrove in
the country. Sierra Leone’s Ramsar site exceeds 1% threshold of the accommodation of water
birds species. In 1995 a survey revealed that 20000 individual water birds comprising of 35 bird
species.
1. Ecological habitat for breeding species including phytoplankton and zooplankton that
support the fishing industry
2. A significant site for academic research
3. A site for tourism
4. An indicator/parameter that aids in the virtual understanding of the movement patterns of
the beach. I serve as a reservoir when there is high tide and can save flooding of adjacent
coastal areas.
5. The mangroves serve a carbon sink to combat climate change, erosion and runoffs and
as wind breakers or buffers from storm damages
6. The site protect marine and avian migratory species
7.
It filters and recharge the water that later comes out of our faucets downstream. They act
like giant sponges, slowing the flow of surface water and reducing the impact of flooding.