By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenada has ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for international cooperation and national action to conserve and wisely use wetlands.

Grenada’s first wetland site under the convention will be the Levara Wetland in St Patrick.

“Grenada takes environment protection seriously and preservation seriously, and signing the Ramsar Convention is one more demonstration of the seriousness we attach to the issue,” said Environment Minister Glynis Roberts. “We start with Levera and we expect over time that more sites nationwide would also be designated Wetlands of International Importance.”

The convention will be enter into force in Grenada on Sep. 22. Grenada is the 162nd contracting party to the convention, which was first developed and adopted by 21 countries in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.

As part of the convention, Grenada is encouraged to post signs at Ramsar-designated sites and display their statuses as Wetlands of International Importance.