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The Ramsar Convention is a global endeavor for the protection of wetlands. However, there is limited research on its efficacy in safeguarding China’s wetlands. This study aims to identify differences within Chinese Ramsar sites and their surrounding areas over the past three decades. This assessment was conducted using extensive land cover maps created by ESA CCI (European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative) through the classification of remote sensing data using the LCCS (Land Cover Classification System) and other systems specified by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), in addition to ecoregion maps. Three primary assessments were performed: detection of change in land covers, fragmentation using effective mesh size and driver analysis using a random forest classifier. The findings indicate significant land cover changes within both Ramsar sites and their surrounding areas. Tree cover and grasslands showed the largest decrease in land cover while flooded shrubs and herbaceous cover showed the largest increase within the Ramsar sites. In contrast, urban areas had the largest overall change in the surrounding areas, with twice the increase compared to the areas within the Ramsar sites. Most land cover changes within the Ramsar sites occurred closest to their boundaries where more human interactions occurred. It was also found that the fragmentation of flooded vegetation and water was also greater in areas surrounding the Ramsar sites in comparison to areas within the sites. This study also identified human activity as the primary driver of all observed changes, especially for wetlands. The differences observed indicate the effectiveness of Chinese Ramsar sites in wetlands protection and provide invaluable information for future strategic planning. Full article