15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties on Wetlands (COP15)
The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Wetlands is taking place in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 23 to 31 July 2025.
What are we talking about?
The Convention on Wetlands is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources (also known as the Ramsar Convention, because it was adopted in this Iranian city in 1971).
The importance of wetlands
Wetlands play a vital role for the planet and its inhabitants, both in terms of conservation, as they act as ‘reservoirs of biodiversity’ and/or ecological corridors, and in terms of climate resilience, providing a natural ‘infrastructure’ to strengthen adaptation to climate change.
Wetlands are rich and diversified biomes (peat bogs, marshes, ponds, wet meadows, etc.) that provide a wide range of eco-system services. As corridors and areas of refuge, they play a major role in conserving biodiversity.
The stakes at COP15
Despite a growing recognition of the essential role of wetlands for biodiversity, climate regulation and water security, these ecosystems remain underfunded and undervalued in national and international financial programmes. There is therefore an urgent need to mobilise innovative funding mechanisms.
Better coordination of the Ramsar Convention with all international work on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development is essential if wetlands are to receive renewed attention from public policies at local, national and international levels.
These discussions will be at the heart of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Wetlands, to be held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 23 to 31 July 2025, on the theme ‘Protecting wetlands for our common future’.
The aim of this COP is to adopt a new strategic plan for 2025-2034, the Convention’s fifth action plan.
It is expected that the role of ecological connectivity will be strengthened, in line with the guidelines of other UN bodies, in particular with the recognition of its crucial role in achieving the 30×30 objective of the new global framework for biodiversity.
Climate Chance is taking part in the Ramsar COP15 to raise the issue of convergence between the climate and biodiversity agendas, in particular through the promotion of ecological connectivity and the establishment of biodiversity corridors, building on the work and progress made by the International Coalition of Biodiversity Corridors in Africa.