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Celebrate World Wetlands Day on 2 February 2026

World Wetlands Day takes place every year on 2 February. It is a chance to recognise the vital role that wetlands play in supporting Ireland’s landscapes, wildlife, and communities. Ireland’s wetlands are among our most distinctive natural features, and they continue to provide essential services for people and nature.

What are wetlands?

A wetland is an area of land that is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally, and where the water table is near or at the surface (Home – Irish Ramsar Wetlands Committee). In Ireland, they include bogs, fens, marshes, wet grasslands, turloughs, and wet woodlands. These habitats vary widely, but they all depend on the interaction between water, soil and plant life, creating rich ecosystems that support many species.

Map of Ireland showing the distribution of wetlands marked in yellow across the country.

Map of Irish wetlands

If you would like to explore where wetlands occur across the country, Wetland Surveys Ireland provide an online Map of Irish Wetlands. The online map is a free public resource that anyone can use. To explore your local wetlands, simply zoom into your area of interest or search for a site by name.

Why wetlands matter

Healthy wetlands provide a range of important benefits, including:

Supporting biodiversity, offering habitat for birds, amphibians, invertebrates, and specialised plant species.
Improving water quality, filtering nutrients and sediments before they reach rivers, lakes and estuaries.
Reducing flood risk, storing water during heavy rainfall and releasing it slowly.
Storing carbon, especially in peatlands, which hold centuries of accumulated organic material.
Providing cultural and recreational value, from walking and birdwatching to heritage and community projects.

World Wetlands Day, 2026

World Wetlands Day provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the steps we can take to protect them. In the Republic of Ireland, wetlands are an essential part of the country’s natural heritage and are crucial local ecosystems. By working to conserve these important ecosystems, we can ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy their many benefits.

Get involved

Whether through an organised event or a quiet walk, visiting a wetland is one of the best ways to appreciate these remarkable landscapes. This World Wetlands Day, take time to learn more about Ireland’s wetlands and the role they play in healthy catchments and resilient communities.

Wetland pond with reeds in the foreground and swans and ducks swimming in the distance.

Explore a range of events taking place this World Wetlands Day

Events – Irish Ramsar Wetlands Committee

World Wetlands Day Webinar: Community Led River Restoration

Learn more

There is a wealth of information available for anyone interested in exploring Ireland’s wetlands, their importance, and the work happening to protect them:

Irish Ramsar Wetlands Committee

IrishWetlands.ie brings together stories, maps, Ramsar site information, and educational resources to help people explore, appreciate, and protect these unique habitats.

Wetlandssurveys.ie

WetlandSurveys.ie brings together clear, accessible guides on Ireland’s wetland types, offering fact‑files, habitat explanations, and conservation insights that help people explore and understand peatlands, fens, marshes, swamps and other wetland habitats across the country.

Teagasc – A celebration of our wetlands

Teagasc provides clear, science‑based explanations of Ireland’s wetland types, their environmental importance, and the role they play in climate, biodiversity and water protection, along with insights linked to World Wetlands Day and national conservation efforts.

World Wetlands Day

WorldWetlandsDay.org brings together global resources, themes, educational materials and activities that help people learn about wetlands worldwide and take part in the annual celebration on 2 February.

The Irish Wetlands Video Series

The Irish Wetlands Video Series is a series of seven videos which have been produced by the IRWC with support from the OPW, the EPA and NPWS.

You can also explore related stories on Catchments.ie, including past World Wetlands Day features, wetland restoration projects, and insights into Ireland’s unique bog and fen systems.

Discover your local wetlands

Dublin Urban Rivers LIFE: finding bad plumbing and building wetlands to keep wastewater away from local rivers – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

The wonder of wetlands: Coole Lough and Garryland Wood – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

The wonder of wetlands: Tralee Bay – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

Sustainable community engagement in wetlands – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

Tapestry of Light – Ireland’s bogs and wetlands as never seen before – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

Ecosystem hydrology: utilizing the functional ecology of forests and wetlands – Acknowledging the benefits of multiple land use – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.