The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention (www.ramsar.org), is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for conservation and use of wetlands and their resources. These ecosystems are land areas saturated with water either permanently or seasonally and inhabited by aquatic plants.

In this section, you will study how the Ramsar Convention classifies and describes the Form and Functioning of some wetlands and other water-related ecosystems. Although the RAMSAR classification system comprises more than 30 wetland type, we present you with a selection of these types as an introduction to the topic.