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The Niagara River gained global prominence last fall when the river and its corridor became an official Wetland of International Importance and part of the Ramsar Convention.

The Ramsar designation, which marks special wetlands determined as having rare and unique habitats, wildlife, and biological diversity, has been awarded to roughly 2,300 wetlands in the world and only about 40 in the U.S.

“The designation will help everyone see that the river is one of the most important natural places on Earth, putting our backyard on par with places like the Galapagos Islands and the Everglades,” said Jajean Rose-Burney, deputy executive director of the Western New York Land Conservancy and the U.S. co-chair of the binational Niagara River Corridor Ramsar Site Steering Committee.

“This was a bottom-up effort, led by individuals and organizations who live and work right here along the river.”

Among them were 33 students enrolled in the UB School of Law’s Environmental Advocacy Clinic, who invested more than 1,450 pro bono hours to perform the legal and policy work required for the Ramsar designation.

The origins of the effort date back nearly two decades and include the watershed “Rethinking the Niagara Frontier” initiative of 2001. Led by the UB School of Architecture and Planning and Ontario’s Waterfront Heritage Trust, the plan reimagined the Niagara River Corridor as a natural heritage resource and spawned a series of ecologically focused tourism, economic development and greenway planning efforts.

Rose-Burney, who worked on a number of these efforts as an urban planning student at UB and a research assistant at UB’s Urban Design Project, praised the work of the university in helping to secure the Ramsar designation for the Niagara River.

“The UB School of Law’s Environmental Advocacy Clinic and the UB School of Architecture and Planning helped immensely with this work,” he said.

Those dedicated to the revival of the Niagara River say designating the area as a Ramsar site draws attention to the river and its surroundings, boosting efforts to preserve the integrity of the waterway and create a healthy shoreline that everyone can enjoy.

Gregory Stevens, executive director of the Niagara River Greenway Commission, pointed out that the Ramsar designation is also an important tool in restoring the Niagara River to health after the severe industrial pollution of the past.

“Core to the mission of the Niagara River Greenway is the restoration of healthy riparian ecology, and promoting global awareness of the unique importance of the Niagara ecosystem,” said Stevens, who called the Niagara River’s revival a symbol of the resurgence of the region.

“The Ramsar designation will shine a bright light on all the tremendous work underway to restore the health of the mighty Niagara.”