TEHRAN - This year, more than 72,000 birds are spending the winter in the wetlands of the southwestern Bushehr province.

The population of wintering birds in Bushehr province has increased by five percent compared to last year, IRIB reported.

Gulls, pelicans, geese, crab-eaters, ducks, storks, herons, cranes, and flamingoes are among the migratory birds.

Dayyer Nakhilou, one of the important wetlands in the south of the country, will be registered internationally as the first wetland of Bushehr province.

The wetland is one of the valuable wetlands of the province and the habitat of many kinds of birds as well as mangrove forests, and the breeding ground of endangered sea turtles and humpback dolphins.

Dayyer Nakhilou plays a special role in the lives of residents and the local community, ISNA quoted Farhad Qolinejad, the head of the provincial department of environment, as saying.

Due to the importance of this wetland, necessary steps are being taken to register it in the Ramsar Convention, as the first international wetland of Bushehr province, he added.

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

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to becoming “Contracting Parties”.

In Iran, 141 wetlands with ecological value with an area of over 3 million hectares have been identified, of which 25 wetlands are designated as wetlands of international importance (registered in the Ramsar Convention) covering more than 1.4 million hectares and four sites are biosphere reserves.

An official with the Department of Environment has said comprehensive management plans have been prepared for 44 wetlands in the country.

The unique characteristics of wetlands, including groundwater control, climate change adaptation, the livelihood of local communities through fishing, livestock grazing and agriculture, natural water purification, purification and absorption of pollutants, and nature tourism have made sustainable management and protection of wetlands essential for humans, ISNA quoted Jaleh Amini as saying.

Environmental management based on a comprehensive approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and livelihood resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in a balanced manner.

This approach is the primary framework for action under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The indigenous approach puts people and their type of exploitation of natural resources exactly at the center of decision-making.

MG