World Wetlands Day: Venice Agreement for Peatlands launches its activities for 2026

On World Wetlands Day and throughout the year 2026, the Venice Agreement for Peatlands invites us to reimagine conservation as a shared responsibility – rooted not only in ecological data, but also in ancestral memory, spiritual connection and cultural continuity. It shifts the focus away from top-down approaches toward a bottom-up, place-based ecology of care. 

2026 marks the third Biennial Gatherings of the Venice Agreement for Peatlands (VA), taking place in peatlands around the world and during an international workshop by and for peatland custodians in the Papyrus Wetlands of Lake Victoria in Kisumu, Kenya, starting on 2 June 2026. In January 2026, the VA Organising Committee met in the Patagonian peatland Pakeliah, an ancestral ecosystem under the care of the Selk’nam organisation Hach Saye together with WCS Chile. From there, the committee defined the objectives of the 2026 gatherings and launched registration for the worldwide “Underground Workshops” as well as the workshop in Kisumu. 

One of the main objectives is to showcase Africa’s diverse and vital peatlands in connection with their ecological, ancestral, and cultural importance, while strengthening peatland networks worldwide. Cross-cutting themes that guide the collective work of the Venice Agreement include decoloniality, the Rights of Nature, and language justice. 

World Wetlands Day 2026 explores the deep-rooted connections between wetlands and cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge systems of communities across the world. The theme, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage,” highlights the vital role of traditional knowledge in sustaining wetland ecosystems and preserving cultural identity. 

Every year, on 2 February, World Wetlands Day (WWD) is celebrated to raise global awareness of the importance of wetlands for people and the planet. The date also commemorates the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. 

For more information and registration for the “Underground Workshops” and the workshop in Kisumu, Kenya, please check the following link: The Venice Agreement 

The countdown to worldwide underground workshops in peatlands 2026 has begun! Join this significant milestone in transcontinental collaboration for peatland protection from your local peatland.