The Convention on Wetlands, also known as the “Ramsar Convention on Wetlands” from the name of the city in Iran where it was signed in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and of wetland biodiversity and services. The Convention has been entered into by 172 Contracting Parties, with over 2,400 designated wetlands of international importance covering an area equivalent to the tenth largest country in the world. The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands (“the Secretariat”) provides support to the Contracting Parties to the Convention, including organizing the meetings of its governing and subsidiary bodi