© Getty Images

Okavango Delta, Botswana -

This outstanding wetland region in Botswana is made up of a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River empties over the sands of the Kalahari Desert.

© Shutterstock 

Okavango Delta, Botswana -

One of the world's great waterways, the delta is fed by seasonal flooding, making it Africa's grandest and most dazzling oasis. On June 22, 2014, the Okavango Delta became the 1,000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

© Shutterstock 

Okavango Delta, Botswana -

Africa's big five game animals—the lion, leopard, African buffalo, African bush elephant, and both the black and white rhinoceros—are Okavango Delta residents. It also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, wattled crane, and lilac-breasted roller. 

© Getty Images

Camargue, France -

The Camargue is western Europe's largest river delta, a vast plain comprising large brine lagoons or étangs, cut off from the sea by sandbars and encircled by reed-covered marshes. Home to more than 400 bird species, the Camargue is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.

© Shutterstock 

Camargue, France -

Botanists and anybody else interested in flora visiting the Camargue will be amazed by the variety of plants and flowers thriving here. Sea lavender (pictured) and glasswort flourish, as does tamarisk.

© Getty Images

Camargue, France -

The iconic Camargue horse is an ancient breed of horse indigenous to the area. These beautiful animals roam the extensive marshlands in lively teams, and are often seen galloping through the shallows, a popular and romantic image of the region.

© Shutterstock 

Pantanal, Brazil -

The Pantanal encompasses the world's largest tropical wetland area (the name "Pantanal" comes from the Portuguese word pântano, meaning wetland, bog, swamp, quagmire, or marsh).

© Shutterstock 

Pantanal, Brazil -

Lying mostly in Brazil but extending into Bolivia and Paraguay, the Pantanal is made up of a complex and fragile system of marshlands, floodplains, lagoons, and interconnected drainage lines.

© Shutterstock 

Pantanal, Brazil -

Approximately 2,000 different plants have been identified in the Pantanal biome. In addition, the Pantanal ecosystem is also thought to be home to 463 bird species, 269 fish species, more than 236 mammalian, reptilian, and amphibian species, and over 9,000 subspecies of invertebrates. Pictured: a southern tamandua, a species of anteater.

© Getty Images

Danube Delta, Romania -

The Danube Delta is the second-largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta in Russia, and is the best preserved on the continent. It's fed by the waters of the mighty Danube River.

© Shutterstock 

Danube Delta, Romania -

The delta's vast reed beds (the largest expanse in the world), numerous lakes, myriad waterways, and plentiful marshes make it home to a wealth of flora and fauna.

© Shutterstock 

Danube Delta, Romania -

The Danube Delta ecosystem is noted for its variety and large population of birds, some of them very rare. Wading birds, including the black-crowned night heron (pictured), are especially represented.

© Getty Images

Kafue Flats, Zambia -

Zambia's Kafue Flats form the vast majority of the Kafue National Park—a beguiling wetland landscape of grasslands, lagoons, marshes, swamps, reed beds, and seasonally inundated floodplains.

© Getty Images

Kafue Flats, Zambia -

The marshy, water-rich landscape is perfectly suited to the Kafue lechwe, an antelope listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List as vulnerable.

© Getty Images

Kafue Flats, Zambia -

The magnificent kudu, another species of antelope, is also very much at home on the Kafue Flats grasslands.

© Shutterstock 

Sundarbans, Bangladesh -

Spreading across southern Bangladesh and into West Bengal in India is this pristine and abundant wilderness known as the Sundarbans (the name Sundarban translates as "beautiful forest" in Bengali).

© Shutterstock 

Sundarbans, Bangladesh -

The freshwater swamp forests and mangrove eco-region provide a unique ecosystem and a rich wildlife habitat for an abundance of flora, a huge variety of birds, and a bewildering array of mammals.

© Getty Images

Sundarbans, Bangladesh -

The biggest population of Bengal tigers, possibly up to 500 animals, call the Sundarbans home.

© Getty Images

Kopački Rit, Croatia -

Kopački Rit is one of the most important, largest, and most attractive preserved intact wetlands in Europe. Caused by the confluence of the Drava and the Danube rivers, this nature park in eastern Croatia sits on the border with Serbia.

© Shutterstock 

Kopački Rit, Croatia -

Guided tourist visits by sightseeing vessels are a popular way to explore the area, offering a unique opportunity to observe Kopački Rit's wildlife up close. In addition, horse-drawn wagons and stilted walkways over the lagoons provide equally rewarding ways to experience the natural beauty of the region.

© NL Beeld

Kopački Rit, Croatia -

The endangered ferruginous duck (pictured) is a treat for birdwatchers, as is the rare black stork. Kopački Rit also has over 140 recorded species of plant—some of which are very rare and only found in a few places in Croatia.

© Shutterstock 

Ria Formosa, Portugal -

While Portugal's southern Algarve region is famously known as one of Europe's premier vacation destinations, it's also the location of the Ria Formosa, a system of lagoons, wetlands, and sand dune barrier islands. Much of the area is a protected natural park and serves as a haven for an abundance of wildlife.

© Shutterstock 

Ria Formosa, Portugal -

Annually, about 30,000 birds can be observed from Ria Formosa, since the region serves as a migratory corridor and contains some of the last remaining nesting grounds in Europe for some bird species.

© Getty Images

Ria Formosa, Portugal -

The park's symbol is the purple gallinule. This striking wading bird can be seen foraging near the water's edge, where it walks nimbly across muddy margins, or on aquatic vegetation.

© Shutterstock 

Sudd, South Sudan -

This vast swamp in South Sudan is formed by the waters of the White Nile and covers an impressive 15% of the country's total land area.

© Getty Images

Sudd, South Sudan -

The swampy lowlands are characterized by a series of meandering channels and lagoons textured by reed and papyrus beds.

© Getty Images

Sudd, South Sudan -

The Sudd is rich in wildlife. Some 70 species of fish have been recorded here and over 400 species of bird are found in the Sudd, including the shoebill (a stronghold for the species, with several thousand individuals - pictured). The swamp is also a haven for numerous migrating mammals.

© Getty Images

Caerlaverock, Scotland -

The Caerlaverock Wetland Centre at Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland is a wildlife paradise. Operated by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), the nature reserve is home to one of only two UK populations of the "living fossil" Triops cancriformis, the horseshoe shrimp. It's also where the UK's most northerly population of the natterjack toad is found.

© Shutterstock 

Caerlaverock, Scotland -

A pair of ospreys have nested on the reserve since 2005. In fact, ospreys from as far south as Senegal are known to winter at Caerlaverock.

© Shutterstock 

Caerlaverock, Scotland -

Caerlaverock's other claim to fame is that each year the entire population—all 35,000 of them—of barnacle geese returns from the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, around 10,000 of which are usually to be found in the WWT reserve.

© Shutterstock 

Mesopotamia Marshes, Iraq -

A wetland area located in southern Iraq and southwestern Iran, the Mesopotamia Marshes used to be the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia. That is before Saddam Hussein ordered the draining of the marshland in the 1990s as punishment to the region's Marsh Arabs, who had backed an uprising. Since the fall of Hussein's regime in 2003, the marshes have partially recovered. But drought along with upstream dam construction and operation in Turkey, Syria, and Iran have hindered the process. Pictured: Marsh Arabs poling a traditional mashoof in the marshes of southern Iraq.

© Public Domain 

Mesopotamia Marshes, Iraq -

Designated as Iraq’s first national park in 2013 and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, the wetlands are home to 40 species of bird, including the Iraq babbler (pictured) and the Basra reed warbler, plus several species of fish.

© Shutterstock 

Mesopotamia Marshes, Iraq -

Many other birds, however, species that include the sacred ibis (pictured) and the African darter, remain at risk, as do some mammals, among them the smooth-coated otter.

© Getty Images

Marais Poitevin, France -

Some regions of the Marais Poitevon, a large area of marshland in western France, are known as the La Venise Verte, or "Green Venice," such is the verdant and captivating allure of the maze of islets and luminous canals that characterize this expanse of wet marshland.

© Shutterstock 

Marais Poitevin, France -

A popular tourist destination, sections of the Marais Poitevin are a designated national park. Several picturesque villages provide departure points for sightseeing boats, vessels that include traditional barques.

© Shutterstock 

Marais Poitevin, France -

During a walk or a ride in the Marais Poitevin, you can find several hides that are specially adapted to observe birds. In fact, more than 330 bird species call the marshes and open fenland home. The handsome marsh harrier (pictured) is a real treat to see.

See also: The most beautiful national parks in the world

© Shutterstock