The World Wetlands Day at 2nd February gave me the motivation to refer to an important success of the Greek environmental movement. More than 10 years of tireless and focused effort, from many Greek environmental organizations, led to official protection of small wetlands of Greek islands.

During the 12th Session of the Member States in Uruguay, June 2015, the Assembly of the International Ramsar Convention adopted unanimously Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy's proposal for the protection of island wetlands in the Mediterranean islands.

The reason is that island wetlands are a network of great ecological importance, as they are:
- Necessary for stopover for millions of migrating birds, and shelter for wintering species

- Important indicators of the adequacy and the water quality in the islands, and, ultimately

- A unique asset for sustainable development.

The resolution recognizes the Mediterranean as a region of global importance for biodiversity, with special reference to the large number of islands which are one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. This popularity has positives and negatives, for the wetlands? preservation, mainly due to anthropogenic pressures. The wetlands are threatened especially by road openings, deprivation of water supply, the unawareness of people and the local authorities for their importance, and finally the lack of a legal framework for their protection.

?he achievement of their protection in Greece was not easy. As WWF Greece states, when the project started at 2004, nobody really knew how many small wetlands existed in the Greek islands. Systematic research on site reached the registering, during the first year 2004, of 183 wetlands.

Until 2007, 321 wetlands in 49 Greek islands had been registered. This year was the first in which a volunteer network worked on watching and protecting the wetlands in the islands. Moreover, a book titled "The wetlands of the Aegean islands" was published and distributed to each island's schools.

2008: the program was expanded from the Aegean islands to Creta and the Ionian islands (south and west Greece).

2009: the area of Kalloni, Lesvos island, was declared as a wild life shelter and the river's Moroni mouth in Chania, Creta, was cleaned from construction materials. The same year, ten environmental organizations made a proposal for a comprehensive legal framework, for the protection of the biodiversity in Greece.

2010: the registration of all island wetlands was completed and properly documented. The volunteer network also was fully developed for the close observation of each wetland's condition.

2011: an environmental movement was deployed to push the authorities to pay special attention to the conservation of the wetlands. Indeed, a new law was voted for the protection of natural habitats. For the first time, there was a reference to the small wetlands in the islands. Up to 70 cases of wetlands' degradation were reported and reported and legally denounced.

2012: a new presidential decree was formulated and finally signed by the Ministry, especially for the protection of the island wetlands. The same year, a draft resolution was submitted by Greece, in 43rd meeting of Ramsar Committee for the Protection of island wetlands of Mediterranean.

Finally, the Assembly of the International Ramsar Convention voted for the international protection of wetlands in Mediterranean islands, including those of Greek islands.

It was a long and tiring way but it was worthwhile. Wasn't it?