UN Secretary-General Stresses Role of Wetlands in Tackling Climate Change

In a video message to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, taking place in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 28 October-4 November 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the appropriateness of the conference’s theme, “Healthy wetlands, healthy people.”

He underlined the role of wetlands as carbon reservoirs and in building resilience in the face of climate change. Ban concluded by underscoring the importance of the Ramsar Convention in halting and reversing the rapid damage caused to inland and coastal wetlands.