In honor of World Wetlands Day, Mexico added 45 wetlands to an international registry that promotes conservation and sustainable development, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Ramsar, which now covers more than 1,699 wetlands totaling 375 million acres, was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 to coordinate international efforts to conserve wetlands.

Mexico's Environment Secretary Juan Elvira Quesada announced Saturday that the 6.7 million acres of newly protected wetlands are located on Mexico's Caribbean coast, the Baja California Bay of San Quintin and the southernmost state of Chiapas. They raise the total area of Mexico's protected wetlands to 19.8 million acres. The new additions bring Mexico's wetlands inventory to 112 sites, second only to the United Kingdom in national sites. ::Via Associated Press in the San Diego Union-Tribune

See also our coverage of the National Wetlands Awards.

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Green Candidate Guide From Envirowonk

The Go Green Initiative's School of the Week: Walnut Grove Elementary in Pleasanton, CA!