Das Ramsar-Übereinkommen über Feuchtgebiete, insbesondere als Lebensraum für Wasser- und Watvögel von internationaler Bedeutung

The 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) is one of the oldest treaties in modern international environmental law, the first treaty with the objective to protect a certain type of habitat, and the very model of modern habitat protection law. Whilst the Ramsar Convention was originally drafted, negotiated, and concluded by only 18 states parties, it has 169 member states and thus is, currently heading towards universal membership. Even though the legal instruments of the Ramsar Convention are weak and lack any enforcement mechanisms, from a political point of view, the Convention has been impressively successful. The Convention's main achievement is that it has had substantial impact on national legislation, which has begun to appreciate the high ecological value of wetlands, investigated the populations of plant and animal species in suitable areas, and developed protective instruments. The EC Birds Directive from 1979 is an immediate offspring of the Ramsar Convention. Indeed, the Birds Directive, in turn, proved to be the legislative model for the highly effective European habitat protection law, which transformed the Ramsar idea into strong legal instruments, applied by national authorities and courts. In sum, the Ramsar Convention demonstrates importance of soft tools in international environmental law as a means of initiating to processes at national level without overburdening the member states with strict legal instruments. Ultimately, the best international treaties are those that make themselves dispensable.