PL
For many years, there was a perception that wetlands were a bad thing – wasteland, impractical, waterlogged land that became an obstacle to human activity. This misconception led to the drainage of a vast number of wetlands (in Poland – over 80%, which per unit area translates to over 1 million hectares!), which are crucial not only for local biodiversity but also for counteracting the effects of drought. Due to the rapid decline of wetlands since the beginning of the 20th century, an international agreement – the Ramsar Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands – was signed on February 2, 1971.
