 Today, February 2nd, 2024, we commemorate World Wetlands Day under the theme Wetlands and Human Well-being. In 1971, Ramsar Convention was signed in the small town of Ramsar in Iran with the overarching aim of wetlands conservation and wise use of our natural resources through local and national actions and international cooperation. World Wetlands Day provides us with an opportunity to value our wetlands and to raise awareness of the many benefits and important rules that wetlands play in our natural environment. Our water supply is a major limiting factor for our life and livelihoods in St. Lucia. Year after year, we experience droughts and water shortages across the island and this precarious circumstance is predicted to worsen due to climate change. Climateologists continue to sound the alarm of increasing temperatures and changing weather patterns. Already, we have witnessed this reality with 2023 being the hottest year on record to date. It is thus essential that we better manage, better conserve and begin to value our wetlands and water resources. Under the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are broadly defined as an area naturally or manmade that is covered or saturated with water. The Convention promotes integrated approaches to managing wetlands' ecosystems to retain the natural values while ensuring appropriate human use for future generations. One of the better known aspects of the Ramsar Convention is the list of wetlands of international importance referred to as the Ramsar List. These are important wetlands sites which maintain biodiversity and the natural functioning of wetland ecosystems. There are now over 1,900 designated Ramsar sites around the world with a combined surface area of over 190 million hectares. However, this is still a very small figure as only approximately 6% of the Earth's land surface is covered with wetlands. The Makute and Savants Bay mangroves are two sites of international significance in St. Lucia that are featured on the coveted Ramsar List. These sites demonstrate the value and importance of wetlands in our country. It is therefore incumbent upon us as a people to embrace and value all our wetlands. In addition, both the Makute and Savants Bay mangroves are declared marine reserves under the Fisheries Act of 1984. Not only do these sites help in coastal erosion control, flood mitigation and provide a habitat for wildlife, they also offer an excellent nursery for fish and other marine life forms. Furthermore, both sites have for decades provided livelihoods for neighboring communities in ecotourism, epiculture, equestrian rides, bird watching, fishing, seamos and charcoal production. Today I pose the question, have we made the wisest use of our wetlands? Bad or unsustainable practices can have negative impacts on our wetlands. The biodiversity they support and the communities that depend on them. When the freshwater supply of a critical wetland ecosystem has been dammed off or diverted, or when we regard our wetlands as wastelands and dumb solid waste and other pollutants at the Makute mangrove, Savants Bay mangrove or any other wetland in our communities, when extensive patches of the Makute mangrove and other wetlands are dying due to soil contamination and pollution overload, then the answer is no, we are not making wise use of our wetlands resource. In discriminated ways, disposal and unsustainable development are two of the most common factors that threaten our wetlands. The time is now as we require all of us to participate in the campaign to save our wetlands. Let us be more mindful of the importance that our wetlands play and endeavour to preserve and protect them. Let us each adopt a wetland within our community. Let us be more responsible citizens and refrain from destroying or dumping garbage into our wetlands. We need positive action from all, from government to grass roots in order to achieve this goal. Save a wetland in your community, commit to doing your part, have the courage to show up and be seen even when you have little control over the outcome. Although we may be vulnerable, together we are strong. Together our environment is very easily torn, but not easily mended. But if we work together, we can begin to restore it for future generations to enjoy and use. Happy World Wetlands Day, Saint Lucia. Thank you.