Abstract Although biological conservation is based on international agreements, its effectiveness depends on how countries implement such recommendations as effective conservation tools. The Ramsar Convention is the oldest international treaty for wetland and waterbird conservation, establishing the world's largest network of protected areas. However, since it does not constitute any binding measure, its effectiveness in protecting wintering waterbird populations at an international scale has been questioned. Here, we use long-term (1991–2012) count data to assess the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared abundance and temporal trends of 114 waterbird species between 251 Ramsar wetlands and 3486 non-Ramsar wetlands. We found that the Ramsar network is critical for wintering waterbirds, concentrating nearly half of all waterbirds counted in the Mediterranean Basin in only 7% of monitored wetlands. Waterbird trends followed a northwest-southeast gradient, with a population decrease in the East. A significant and positive Ramsar effect on population trends was only found for the species of higher conservation concern in the Maghreb, particularly when a management plan was implemented. The Ramsar Convention was previously used on very important wetlands for waterbirds in Southern Europe, but is now an underused conservation tool. Our study suggests weaknesses in the use of Ramsar as an effective conservation tool in most of the Mediterranean Basin. However, the Ramsar Convention effectiveness to enhance waterbird populations in the Maghreb should encourage strengthening the Ramsar Convention. It should be done particularly in countries with limited environmental agreements and by systematic implementation of management plans. Article impact statement Identification of the regional disparities in the Ramsar Convention effectiveness to enhance waterbird populations across the Mediterranean Basin.

中文翻译：

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评估拉姆萨尔公约在保护地中海越冬水鸟方面的有效性

摘要 虽然生物保护基于国际协议，但其有效性取决于各国如何将这些建议作为有效的保护工具来实施。拉姆萨尔公约是最古老的湿地和水鸟保护国际条约，建立了世界上最大的保护区网络。然而，由于它不构成任何具有约束力的措施，其在国际范围内保护越冬水鸟种群的有效性受到质疑。在这里，我们使用长期（1991-2012 年）计数数据来评估《拉姆萨尔公约》在地中海盆地的有效性。我们比较了 251 个拉姆萨尔湿地和 3486 个非拉姆萨尔湿地之间 114 种水鸟的丰度和时间趋势。我们发现拉姆萨尔网络对越冬的水鸟至关重要，将地中海盆地计数的所有水鸟的近一半集中在仅 7% 的受监测湿地中。水鸟趋势遵循西北-东南梯度，东部人口减少。仅在马格里布保护程度较高的物种中发现拉姆萨尔对种群趋势的显​​着和积极影响，特别是在实施管理计划时。拉姆萨尔公约以前曾被用于南欧非常重要的水鸟湿地，但现在是一种未被充分利用的保护工具。我们的研究表明，在地中海盆地的大部分地区，将拉姆萨尔用作有效保护工具的弱点。然而，拉姆萨尔公约对增加马格里布水鸟种群的有效性应鼓励加强拉姆萨尔公约。尤其应该在环境协议有限并通过系统地实施管理计划的国家来完成。文章影响声明 确定拉姆萨尔公约在提高整个地中海盆地水鸟种群的有效性方面的区域差异。