Ramsar (, also Romanized as Rámsar and Ránsar; formerly, Sakht Sar) is the capital of Ramsar County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. In 2012 its population was 33,018, in 9,421 families. Ramsar lies on the coast of the Caspian Sea. It was also known as Sakhtsar in the past. The climate of Ramsar is hot and humid in summer and mild in winter. The proximity of the forest and the sea in this city has given a special beauty to this city and this attracts tourists in all seasons. Ramsar has an airport. The city of Ramsar was a small village in western Mazandaran until the Qajar period, and during the first Pahlavi period, with the rule of Reza Shah and with the support of the government, it became a beautiful city with many tourist facilities. Ramsar is the westernmost county and city in Mazandaran. It borders the Caspian Sea to the north, Gilan province to the west, Qazvin Province to the south, and Tonekabon to the east. People The Gilaks form the majority of the cities population. Their dialect of Gilaki is similar to that found in eastern Gilan and belongs to the Eastern or Bie-Pish branch. History In 1971, Ramsar hosted the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Tourism Ramsar is a popular sea resort for Iranian tourists. The town also offers hot springs, the green forests of the Alborz Mountains, the vacation palace of the last Shah, and the Hotel Ramsar. south of Ramsar and above sea level in the Alborz mountains is Javaher Deh village, which is an important tourist attraction in Ramsar county. Ramsar Convention The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 160 contracting parties to the convention, with 1920 wetland sites, totaling , designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Presently, there are 160 contracting parties, up from 119 in 2000 and from 18 initial signatory nations in 1971. Signatories meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the first held in Cagliari, Italy, in 1980. Amendments to the original convention have been agreed to in Paris (in 1982) and Regina, Canada (in 1987). Climate Ramsar has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cf), with