World Wetlands Day is on Monday, 2 February 2026. This year's theme is 'Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage'. Wetlands are more than ecosystems - they are cultural landscapes.
For thousands of years, people have relied on wetlands for food, water and connection to Country. In Australia, First Nations Peoples have cared for wetlands for millennia.
Wetlands are important because they are:
- places that support local livelihoods, providing food and materials
- sites for cultural practices, knowledge sharing and innovation
- natural features used to define Country and travel routes.
They also hold deep meaning as:
- ceremonial and initiation sites
- places of historical importance
- part of spiritual beliefs.
Australia has 67 wetlands of international importance, covering 8.3 million hectares. Many overlap with First Nations-managed lands. Working together helps us protect these special places.
Working for wetlands
Since the last World Wetlands Day, we have continued to restore and protect wetlands. This includes supporting on-ground action. We're also working towards global adoption of the International Convention on Wetlands.
In July last year, we attended the 15th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15). The event was held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, with more than 3,000 delegates from 172 countries.
We helped to:
- promote youth engagement, including through the Pacific Youth Wetlands Coordinator program
- share Australian First Nations voices
- shape the next 5-year strategic plan aligned with the global biodiversity framework
- support the adoption of the Victoria Falls Declaration.
Healthy wetlands are vital for biodiversity and climate resilience. This year, we will continue this work at the 67th Standing Committee Meeting in Gland, Switzerland. Representing the Oceania region we will focus on putting COP15 decisions into action.
