Do you know, every year on 2 February, communities around the world pause to celebrate World Wetlands Day? This is a gentle reminder of how essential wetlands are for people, cultures, and the planet. If we talk about the history, this date marks the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands back in 1971, a global commitment to protect these life-giving ecosystems.

When many people hear the word wetland, they think only of marshes, swamps, rivers, or mangroves. But wetlands are far more than places where land and water meet. In and around these wetlands are many life and cultures flourishing. The times immemorial, before we remember, for countless generations, people across Nepal and around the globe have lived beside wetlands, learning their rhythms, stories, making promises and secrets. There are many rituals which is incomplete without wetland such as Chaatt puja. The wetlands habitat such as fish and crabs is the part of festivities, rituals in many parts of the world. The theme for World Wetlands Day 2026, “Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage,” invites us to acknowledge this profound link between ecological stewardship and cultural wisdom. 

Traditional knowledge is not something found in textbooks, it is wisdom passed down through generations such as noticing the subtle flow of water, the activities performed by the grandmother, the patterns of birds and fish, the signs of seasonal change, and the delicate balance of wetland life. It is in the stories elders share around evening fires, in seasonal journeys taken together, and in ceremonies that honour water spirits and wind. These ways of knowing help communities read the land, understand environmental shifts, and respond with care. It is a kind of knowledge born of deep listening to nature and each other. 

According to The Convention of Wetlands, there are over 2,500 designated Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance) across the world. In Nepal, wetlands are incredibly rich in life and meaning. The country is home to over 240 wetlands covering roughly 743,500 hectares, about 5–6 % of the nation’s land area (Nepal Tourism Board). These include lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes, marshes, and floodplain systems supporting myriad species and ecological services. Nepal also has 10 designated Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance), including Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Beeshazar and associated lakes, Ghodaghodi Lake area, the Pokhara lake cluster, and Rara Lake, altogether covering more than 60,000 hectares of globally significant habitat. Yet wetlands in Nepal are under threat. According to national assessments, these vital ecosystems have declined by about 5.4 % due to conversion to croplands, and this trend continues as urbanisation, encroachment, pollution, invasive species, and land-use change degrade remaining wetland areas. 

For me, this connection is deeply personal. As a child in rural terai of Nepal, I spent long afternoons beside rivers and ponds near my home wich were the places of play, adventure, and wonder. There we played hide-and-seek, encountered birds, snakes, and countless other creatures. Back then, wetlands were alive with sound and movement. Today, many of those waterways have narrowed, are almost gone, or are degraded; the ponds where we played no longer exist in their former glory, and the calls of birds and the quiet glide of snakes are far less common. 

Later, when I married into Mithila culture, I was embraced by a rich tapestry of stories about ponds, rivers, water, snakes, and the balance of the ecosystem. These tales which are full of reverence for wetlands were beautiful, exciting, and filled with life. Gradually, I came to realize that the awareness of conservation and sustainability I encountered later in life was not separate from those traditions; it was rooted in them. In Nepali societies like Mithila for say, sustainability is not just a modern approach,  it is core to community values, ways of living, and respect for nature. 

In this era, this connection between culture and ecology matters more than ever. Wetlands are disappearing at a staggering rate faster than forests and the consequences reach far beyond their edges. When wetlands falter, so do the people and cultures tied to them.These days, on my journeys from Kathmandu to hometown, I see wetlands - some natural, others created by people, being transformed into tourist attractions. Once people realized nature attracts visitors and income, they began to value these spaces for their economic potential. But it is a high time we understand that a healthy ecosystem means a healthy environment, and that is the foundation of a healthy body and society, an invaluable form of wealth that cannot be measured purely in monetary terms. 

There are positive developments, but the pace of wetland degradation remains faster than conservation efforts-a balance that urgently needs to be restored, and accelerating change is key. Like many other cases of environmental degradation, wetland decline is not a new issue (Convention on Biological Diversity).

As I mentioned above, many of the wetlands you visited years ago no longer exist, and numerous others are in poor condition due to encroachment, open dumping of waste, and inappropriate land use. While Nepal itself has many important wetlands, and 10 of them are designated as Ramsar sites, what about the rest? I am sure each of you reading this have some or the other kind of stories, memories to share with your friends and younger generations. Let’s talk about it, Let’s talk about Wetlands.  

This World Wetlands Day, my message is simple and heartfelt - Listen to the elders, value the wisdom woven into local traditions, and recognize that wetlands are both ecological powerhouses and cultural treasures. By bringing traditional knowledge into conversations about wetland protection, we honor cultural heritage and move toward a more compassionate, inclusive future where both people and nature thrive together.