Waite captures the beauty and diversity of the wetland sites in Uruguay with his camera during the Ramsar Convention 2015.

The 12th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP12) will be held in Punta del Este at the Conrad Resort, Uruguay, from 1 to 9 June 2015.   The theme of the conference is Wetlands for our Future.

Ramsar Contracting Parties − the member states − will gather to assess the progress of the Convention and the sustainable use of wetlands to date, share knowledge and experience on technical issues, and plan their own work and the Secretariat’s for the next triennium. 

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”.

Wetlands are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems. They provide essential services and supply all our fresh water. However they continue to be degraded and converted to other uses. 

The Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.

Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:

- work towards the wise use of all their wetlands;

- designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management;

- cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

Waite has been appointed as Champion for the Wetlands to assist Ramsar in promoting the importance of wetlands sites all over the world through his renowned landscape photography.