2021 Awards


The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands has the honour to announce the call for nominations for the eighth edition of the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Awards and the Evian Special Prize USD 10,000 to be presented at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP14) in Wuhan, China.

The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Awards recognize and honour the contributions of individuals, organizations, and governments around the world in promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

They were established at COP6 in 1996 through Resolution VI.18, and have been awarded seven times. The eighth edition will be awarded at COP14, which will take place in Wuhan, China in 2021.

Three Awards will accordingly be granted in the following categories:

a)     the Ramsar Convention Award for Wetland Wise Use; rewarding a person, project, programme or policy that has made a significant documented contribution to the long-term sustainable use of wetlands.

b)     the Ramsar Convention Award for Wetland Innovation;rewarding a person, project, programme or policy that has contributed to the conservation and wise use of wetlands through an innovative technique or approach. and

c)      the Ramsar Convention Award for Young Wetland Champions; rewarding a young person or a group of young people between 18 and 30 years old that have contributed to the wise use of wetlands.

Nominations must be submitted in one of the three above-mentioned categories only.

Eligibility criteria;

  •  Individuals and groups of all nations are invited to nominate individuals, institutions (including government institutions and non-governmental organizations and community groups), or private companies, of any nation.
  • Nominees must be alive at the time of nomination. Awards will not be given posthumously.
  • Self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • Individuals, groups or organizations previously involved or currently involved in legal proceedings will not be eligible.
  • Nominations of current members of the Standing Committee, members and invited experts of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel, and Secretariat staff members will not be accepted.

 For the categories, criteria, and procedures for the 2021 Awards click here

For inquiries email:

The deadline for the receipt of nominations is 31 May 2021.