In Japan, a wetland
site needs to fulfil the following three conditions in order to be designated
as a Ramsar site: (1) it must meet any of the eight Ramsar
designation criteria; (2) it must already be covered by environmental
protection laws and regulations; and (3) the designation must
have the approval of local communities. Accordingly, almost all
of the sites designated under the Ramsar Convention in Japan up
to the 1990s were freshwater and inland wetlands, with coastal
areas largely ignored, possibly as coastal wetlands were often targeted
for development (Kawabe, 2004).