The meeting of the working group of the Ramsar Convention was held in Ashgabat in the building of the National Institute of deserts of flora and fauna, the website "Turkmenistan: Golden age" reports.

Representatives of the Ministry of agriculture and environmental protection, the Academy of Sciences, the nature protection Society of Turkmenistan, and the Union of hunting and fishing societies took part in the forum dedicated to the world wetlands day, celebrated on February 2.

The Ramsar Convention was adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and is the first of the modern global intergovernmental agreements in the field of protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Parties to the Convention that have wetlands with confirmed Ramsar status on their territory shall ensure the reasonable use and ecological character of economic activities in the vicinity of these unique corners of nature.

Turkmenistan joined the Convention in July 2009, along with the inclusion of the Turkmenbashi Bay in the Ramsar list.

This year, the national working group will start work on nominating the Turkmen lake, the South Cheleken Bay with Ogurjaly island, the Kelif lakes, including The Kelif ornithological reserve, the 15th anniversary of independence reservoir (formerly Zeid lake), as well as the Gurtli, Sultandag and Sarykamysh lakes to the Ramsar list. An expert assessment of their status and management capabilities will be carried out.

These wetlands of the country have conditions for wintering, migration and nesting of at least 20,000 wetland birds during one or more of their life cycles, which is one of the important criteria for inclusion in the Ramsar list of protected areas.