Part 1—Load Gateway and Select Criteria

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Step 1-
Load the Ramsar Wetlands Data Gateway

    Working with members of an environmental club, you'll use the Ramsar Wetlands Data Gateway to search for a wetlands site that your group wants to help protect.

Click this link to access the Ramsar Wetlands Data Gateway.

It will open in a new window that displays options for searching the Gateway. Loading time varies from a few seconds to a few minutes.

Step 2-
Advanced Search

Once the Data Gateway has loaded, click the Advanced Search button to give you access to all the search options. This will bring up a list of search criteria tools (also called filters) that you will set to select a wetland site with specific characteristics.

    Your club agrees to make choices about the wetland site as a group. For each characteristic of wetlands in the search, you'll examine the available choices and select one.

Step 3-
Set Site Location

  1. Click the SET button next to Site Location Restriction, near the top of the page. In the popup window that appears, go to the section labeled "Show sites located within one or more named regions;" and use the scroll bar view the range of locations to choose from.
    2. After some discussion, your group agrees to look for a site on the continent of Africa. Large increases in human population in many countries on that continent are putting more pressure on the environment, so many of its wetlands could be endangered.
  2. In the list of named regions, click Africa, then scroll to the bottom of the popup window and click Apply.

Step 4-
Set Minimum Area of Site

    Your group wants to find a fairly large wetland site. The smallest one they want to consider would cover about 5 square miles. That area corresponds to roughly to 1500 hectares (abbreviation = ha). Hectares is a metric unit for area that is used by most of the world.
  1. Under the General category, click the SET button next to Area of Ramsar Site.
  2. In the popup window that appears, click in the text box next to Area of Ramsar Site is Greater Than. Type 1500 in the text box, then scroll to the bottom of the popup window and click Apply.

Step 5-
Set Land Uses for Site

  1. On the main search page, scroll down to the category, Site Values and Human Uses. Click the SET button next to Land Uses Inside Site.
  2. In the popup window that appears, scroll down to the section titled "Land Uses Inside Site matches at least one of the following terms and scroll through the choices. To find out what a term means, select it, then click the Explain button.
    3. Some of the vegetarians in the club feel strongly that land can be used more efficiently by raising crops for humans instead of for grazing animals. They want their support to help ensure that grazing animals don't damage endangered wetlands. Based on that input, your group decides to search for a site that is used for rough or shifting grazing.
  3. Under Land Uses Inside Site, click grazings, then click Apply.

Step 6-
Set Threats to Site

  1. Back on the main search page again, scroll down to the category, Adverse Factors. Click the SET button next to Threats from Outside Site.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the the popup window that appears. Under Threats from Outside Site matches one of the following terms, slide the small scroll bar to view all the choices. To find out what a term means, select it, then click the Explain button.
    3. Many of the club members are concerned about global climate change. They see changes in rainfall patterns that leave some areas with much less water than they have had in the past as a serious threat to wetlands. The group agrees to search for a site where drought threatens the wetlands.
  3. Select drought in the popup window, then click Apply.

Step 7-
Perform Search for Wetlands Site

  1. On the main Search page, scroll down to the bottom and click the Search! button.

    2. Note: The Gateway will perform a Boolean "and" search to find sites that meet all your choices. Only those sites that meet ALL the characteristics you set will appear in the results.

  2. A new page will list the criteria you set for the search and report the number of sites that matched all the criteria.

    3. For this example, your selection criteria should include the following.

    • Site in one of: Africa
    • Area of Ramsar Site Greater Than 1500 ha
    • Land Uses Inside Site Matches one of: grazings
    • Threats From Outside Site Matches one of: drought
  3. In Part 2, you'll select the characteristics of the sites that match your search to display in a tabular report on the sites.

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