“A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands”, partially funded by DU, was published by the IUCN, Cambridge and the IWRB, Slimbridge (UK), and completed in the early 1980s. The Directory generated great interest within Latin American and Caribbean countries due to the amount of information it provided for both decision-making managers and administrators, as well as for potential funding agencies. During the two decades since the Directory’s publication, LAC countries have prioritized wetland conservation, designated protected areas specifically for wetlands, and most have ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The Directory documented the status, extent and condition of wetlands in the Neotropical Region, and all countries contributed an outline map showing the location of the sites described. The original intention was to distribute the Directory widely and for free, but available funds were limited and allowed only for 1000 copies to be printed (500 in Spanish and 500 in English). At the time this seemed to be sufficient. However, the Directory was soon in high demand and it was not possible to produce another edition or print additional copies.

As part of our contribution to wetland conservation in LAC, DU decided to make the Directory available through the internet. All of the wetland information within the Directory has been converted to a digital format, and may now be downloaded as a PDF document A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands, or accessed as excel files LAC Wetland Inventory (sites data).