World Wetlands Day is celebrated every February 2 of each year. It commemorates the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971. It is also declared by the Philippine government in 1999 as National Wetlands Day by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 74.

For this year, the celebration will focus on the importance of wetlands with the theme, “Wetlands and Climate Change.”  The frequency of disasters worldwide has more than doubled in just 35 years, and 90% of these disasters are water-related. Wetlands play a significant role in stabilizing GHG emissions and blunting the impacts of climate change.

This year, the WWD will be celebrated at the Candaba Wetlands, a complex of freshwater ponds, swamps and marshes with surrounding areas of seasonally flooded grassland and arable land on a vast alluvial plain. The Candaba Wetlands is an extremely important staging and wintering area for migratory birds, from October up to April of every year, as it regularly supports between 5,000 and 10,000 birds. It is a significant part of the East Asia-Australasian Migratory Flyway. It also forms a critical part of the Pampanga River Basin for a floodwater management strategy for disaster mitigation, conservation and water supply needs.

The DENR – Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) along with the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands (SCPW) and DENR Region 3 will spearhead the conduct of a two-day Media Wetland Exposure Activity on February 1-2, 2019 for members of various media organizations and select bloggers at the Candaba Wetlands, located in Barangay Paligui, Candaba, Pampanga. There will be a briefing on the Candaba Wetlands, birding activities, and interaction with the local community.