The good, the bad and the ugly of the world’s wetlands were revealed at an official ceremony in Bucharest on 7 July 2012 at 18.15 local time (16.15 UK time).

The Wetland Globe Awards highlight the benefits of good wetland management and, conversely, the costs to both humans and wildlife of unsustainable development.

The World Wetland Network (WWN) developed the Wetland Globes to give a voice to small non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on conservation.  They are non-financial awards, given to the wetland itself. This year there were some 2,000 votes from grass-roots NGOs in 270 wetlands around the world.

BLUE Wetland Globes recognise best practice in wetland management; GREY Globes highlight wetlands that are being actively degraded, neglected or are under threat.

The Wetland Globes aim to show that without national protection, short term economic gain and pollution seriously degrade many wetland sites.

In celebrating good restoration and management the Wetland Globes also demonstrate that with the right incentives, it is possible to slow the loss of biodiversity and habitat, by encouraging private sector interests to work with nature rather than against it.  

One of the five Grey Globes goes to Croatia: the Croatian Danube Regulation Project threatens 50,000 ha of protected areas of outstanding natural value in Europe. It will severly impact the vast "Kopacki Rit" wetlands, Danube’s most valuable and best preserved floodplain system along its entire 2,850 kilometers length.

Grey Globe Award Kopacki Rit

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