![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1910-ALJ-Wetlands-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIf you were to choose a name for one of the world\u2019s most important types of habitat, you would probably not choose \u2018wetlands\u2019.\u00a0 It conjures up images of soggy wastelands, bogs, swamps and other generally unloved (by humans at least) environments.\u00a0 A motley collection of water-dominated habitats that have traditionally been regarded by many \u2018modern\u2019 humas, as a waste of space \u2013 to be drained and reclaimed so they can be put towards more \u2018productive\u2019 purposes.<\/p>\n
But as so often with the natural world, our perception is \u2013 at best \u2013 inaccurate and short-sighted, ignorant of the vital role these areas play in our planet\u2019s ecosystem.\u00a0 Belatedly, wetlands are now recognized as absolutely vital<\/u>.\u00a0 Some experts call them the “kidneys of the earth” because of their high and long-term capacity to filter pollutants from the water that flows through them.<\/p>\n
Even from a human perspective, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that somewhere between 300-400 million people live close to, and depend upon, wetlands which also support the cultivation of crops such as rice, a staple in the diet of half the world\u2019s population. \u00a0They also provide flood control, clean water, shoreline and storm protection, materials, medicines, and vital habitat.<\/p>\n
For many years, the habitat on which most of our efforts to protect the environment were focused were forests, particularly rainforests, such as the Congo and the Amazon.\u00a0 Yet wetlands can be even more effective carbon sinks than forests.\u00a0 Research suggests that mangroves and coastal wetlands sequester carbon ten times faster than mature tropical forests. \u00a0They also store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than tropical forests.\u00a0 Unfortunately, wetlands, from marshes to swamps to coral reefs, are disappearing at a rate some three times faster than the forests we are always talking about.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Over 80% of wetlands have been \u2018degraded\u2019 in some manner, since the 18th<\/sup> Century, while 35% have been lost since 1970.\u00a0 Not so coincidentally, there has been a staggering 83% collapse in freshwater species\u2019 populations since then[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet all is not lost.\u00a0 Recent decades have seen growing international recognition at both grass roots and policy maker levels, that this is a critical issue that requires urgent action.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They come in many forms, with examples are found across all continents and some are among the most well-known regions of the world, places such as the Florida Everglades, Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef, and the Amazon Basin.<\/p>\n Wetlands punch well above their weight in terms of biodiversity.\u00a0 Though they cover only a small portion of the Earth’s land surface, 40% of all plant and animal species \u2013 including 30% of all known fish species \u2013 live or breed in wetlands[5]<\/a>.\u00a0 More than 100,000 freshwater species have been identified in wetlands so far, with 200 new ones discovered annually.<\/p>\n They are home to many threatened amphibians and reptiles, host migratory and resident water birds, and nurture thousands of plant species.\u00a0 Coastal wetlands, like mangroves and coral reefs, are among the most biologically diverse places on Earth, while many endemic species are only found in a specific wetland area.\u00a0 Unfortunately, a quarter of these species are threatened by extinction.\u00a0 For instance, in New South Wales, Australia, there are 71 known frog species, 47 of which depend on wetlands[6]<\/a>.\u00a0 When these wetlands are under threat, so are the local frogs \u2013 up to 18 frog species.\u00a0 To combat this, the state government in New South Wales has enacted a number of policies to protect wetlands, most recently 2016\u2019s Biodiversity Conservation Act, and the region has added\u202f200,000 hectares of wetlands\u202fto its protected reserves since 2005.<\/p>\n Wetlands are able to store much more carbon than they release, which makes them one of the world\u2019s most important \u2018carbon sinks.\u2019 \u00a0Research suggests that, despite amounting to less than 5% of global land area and less than 2% of the ocean, they store roughly 50% of all carbon buried in ocean sediments.[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 As such, they are crucial to achieving the Paris Agreement<\/a> target of limiting \u201cthe increase in the global average temperature to well below 2\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels\u201d, with a target of 1.5o<\/sup>C.<\/p>\n The capacity of wetlands to capture and store carbon depends on a number of factors. \u00a0A crucial element is the wet, low-oxygen conditions of tidally influenced and submerged soils common in coastal wetlands, conditions which naturally slow the decay of plant and other organic material. \u00a0During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and water and use it to support their growth. \u00a0When the plants die or shed old leaves or roots, the carbon in the decaying organic matter becomes locked in the soils, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.<\/p>\n When wetlands degrade, however \u2013 by being drained for example \u2013 stored carbon is released into the atmosphere in the form of three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. \u00a0It\u2019s estimated that around 450 million metric tons of carbon dioxide is emitted from the destruction of coastal wetlands each year.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n As their \u201ckidneys of the earth\u201d title suggests, wetlands are also extraordinarily effective at purifying water.\u00a0 As sediment-containing water passes through wetlands, the water flow slows down so the sediment drops out of the water and become part of the ground layer[9]<\/a>.\u00a0 In this way, the water becomes clearer, and sediment is removed which would otherwise create cloudy water conditions.\u00a0 This is particularly useful in dealing with agricultural runoff and sewage effluent which contain high levels of nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen.<\/p>\n Wetlands can stop these nutrients from reaching toxic levels in the groundwater used for drinking and reduce eutrophication, the process by which they cause a massive boost in algal growth, depleting oxygen and blocking out the light that other aquatic plants and animals need to survive.<\/p>\n Removing sediments benefits humans, plants and animals because sediments often contain toxins and, in wetlands, these contaminants are sequestered within the sediment layer.\u00a0 Provided that this layer remains undisturbed, these pollutants are effectively trapped and rendered harmless, while the clearer water enables organisms that filter water for food, such as clams, to flourish.<\/p>\n Even the plants that inhabit the wetlands have their role to play in purifying water.\u00a0 Many of them can remove toxic substances from pesticides, industrial discharges and mining activities[10]<\/a>.\u00a0 For instance, the tissues of some floating plants, especially Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth), Lemna (duckweed) and Azolla (water fern) are able to absorb and \u2018store\u2019 heavy metals \u2013 such as iron and copper \u2013 contained in wastewater.\u00a0 The quantity of heavy metals taken up by plants depends on a whole variety of factors such as speed of water, climate and type of plants \u2013 but levels are commonly many times higher in plant stems, leaves and roots than in the wastewater being treated.<\/p>\n These principles have been successfully applied \u2013 at scale \u2013 to one of the world\u2019s most crowded cities.\u00a0 Originally built to house one million people, Kolkata (Calcutta) in India is now home to more than 10 million, many living in slums.<\/p>\n But the 8,000-hectare East Kolkata Wetlands site[11]<\/a> \u2013 and the 20,000 people that work there \u2013 is able to re-purpose one-third of the city\u2019s sewage and most of its domestic refuse to support toxin-free fish and fresh vegetables.<\/p>\n One of the great benefits of the wetlands habitat for anyone living nearby is that it acts as a defense against many different natural hazards.\u00a0 It forms a barrier to flooding from the coast, as it\u202fintercepts high tides and distribute the force of incoming water\u202fover flood plains.\u00a0 It stores up water to strengthen water security during drought.\u00a0 It can help to regulate coastal climates.\u00a0 And it can lower the risk of flooding by absorbing heavy rains into the porous ground beneath the wetland surface.<\/p>\n This is because wetlands contain water-loving soils called histosols[12]<\/a>, which comprise 20% to 30% organic matter and develop in areas that are poorly drained, causing decomposing plant or animal material to become part of the soil.\u00a0 Histosols can absorb great quantities of water \u2013 a single acre of wetlands can absorb up to 1.5 million gallons of water.<\/p>\n The protective power of wetlands was demonstrated in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy, one of the worst storms to hit the US East Coast[13]<\/a>.\u00a0 Across the four states with the most wetland coverage, flood damage was reduced by 20%-30% compared to unprotected areas.\u00a0 In New Jersey alone, where wetlands cover 10% of the floodplain, it is estimated the state saved nearly US$ 430 million\u202fin flood damage.<\/p>\n Insurance companies took note.\u00a0 Now Zurich Canada, along with another 14 insurers, is collaborating with environmental non-profit Ducks Unlimited Canada to form Nature Force.\u00a0 Using modeling tools, Nature Force will identify urban areas across Canada that are susceptible to flooding and then develop projects to restore or manage wetlands to provide flood resilience.<\/p>\n If wetlands are such important sites of biodiversity, not to mention carbon sequestration, why were they drained in the first place?\u00a0 The answer, as it so often is, is a combination of short-term thinking and ignorance.\u00a0 Draining the Pontine Marshes in Italy, for example, seemed a good idea at the time as they sheltered the malaria-bearing mosquitos that plagued Rome[14]<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0In Iraq, Saddam Hussein drained the Mesopotamian marshes in the 1980s to deny shelter to his opponents.\u00a0 But much of the wetlands that have been lost in recent centuries has been due to agriculture and commercial priorities.<\/p>\n Linked to this is the long-held belief that wetlands are just wasteland; unproductive land that could be put to much better use once it has been drained or filled. \u00a0In the Mekong Delta in China, for example, the UN\u2019s Indo-Burma Wetland Outlook 2022 warns that \u201cnatural wetlands have been been filled-in and \u2018reclaimed\u2019 for infrastructure development as urban sprawl continues to swallow up surrounding floodplains.\u201d[15]<\/a><\/p>\n Thankfully, there has been growing global recognition over the past few years of the critical contribution wetlands make to the environmental sustainability of our planet, and of the need to preserve and reinstate them, rather than drain them.<\/p>\n The fight to protect wetlands first kicked off with the wildlife charities such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which as far back as 1963 bought land in the Coto Do\u00f1ana, Spain, a crucially important stopover wetland for migratory birds[16]<\/a>.\u00a0 It has continued to work with governments and other charities to buy and safeguard millions of hectares of wetland.\u00a0 For example, in 2000 it cooperated with the governments of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova to set up a protected green corridor along the lower reaches of the Danube, a scheme now covering 1.4 million hectares of wetland.<\/p>\n Yet the WWF\u2019s biggest contribution may be its work towards establishing the Ramsar Convention in 1971.[17]<\/a>\u00a0 Named after the Iranian city in which it was drawn up, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem and the number of countries signed up to it has grown from the original seven to 170[18]<\/a>, nearly 90% of all UN members.\u00a0 These signatories commit to:<\/p>\n Today there are around 2,500 designated Ramsar sites, in countries as diverse as Austria, Kazakhstan, UAE and Zimbabwe, covering a total surface area of more than 250 million hectares (an area slightly larger than Algeria).<\/p>\n One of the first multilateral environmental agreements, the Convention on Wetlands works alongside the six other major global biodiversity-related conventions[19]<\/a>, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD<\/a>) and the World Heritage Convention (WHC<\/a>).\u00a0 More has followed.\u00a0 In 2022, at the UN Biodiversity Conference[21]<\/a>, countries reached a landmark agreement to protect nature, a deal that included a provision to restore at least 30% of degraded inland water bodies and conserve healthy freshwater ecosystems in an equitable way.\u00a0 At the UN Water Conference in 2023, the \u2018Freshwater Challenge\u2019 was unveiled.\u00a0 This is an ambitious initiative led by a coalition of governments, including Colombia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico, and Zambia, that aims to revitalize 300,000 km of rivers and restore 350 million hectares of wetlands (an area larger than India) by the year 2030.<\/p>\n All this activity augurs well. In a report by the Southern University of Science Technology in China[22]<\/a>, researchers calculated that restoring dried-out wetlands could avoid emissions equivalent to more than 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide by the end of the century, about a tenth of all expected human-caused emissions over the same period[23]<\/a>.\u00a0 The same study also concluded that preventing degradation of intact wetlands would avoid an additional 150 to 650 billion tons of emissions by the end of the century.\u00a0 Regions with the greatest potential for emissions reductions include Siberia, Canada, the Congo, Brazil and Indonesia.<\/p>\n Addressing the global challenge of climate change requires significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.\u00a0 Immediate, short-term measures can also provide tangible benefits.<\/p>\n Strategies include increasing the size of wetlands by adding fresh sediment.\u00a0 There are also cutting-edge methods being explored, such as “smart gates” that control tidal flows to protect coastal wetland.\u00a0 Such gates prevent seawater from rising too much, and they’ve seen promising results in places like Hunter Wetlands National Park in Australia[24]<\/a>.<\/p>\n From the first formal recognition of their importance at Ramsar more than 50 years ago to the present day, the world is increasingly recognizing the immense value and potential of wetlands.\u00a0 These complex ecosystems not only serve as crucial carbon sinks and natural purifiers, but also provide a frontline defense against the adverse impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n More crucially, the pace of change is stepping up \u2013 and it must do, because we might be on the right track, but we are playing catch-up.\u00a0 Reforestation and coastal wetlands restoration must accelerate threefold to meet the Paris Agreement targets for 2030, according to the World Resources Institute[25]<\/a>.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the signs are positive, and progress is unmistakable.\u00a0 Wetlands are recognized as a vital natural asset, essential for the environmental, social and commercial sustainability of our plant.\u00a0 If we look after them, we will all benefit.\u00a0 If we do not, our hopes for a more sustainable future could disappear beneath the rising waters of our oceans.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/press-release\/largest-river-and-wetland-restoration-initiative-history-launched-un<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/pondinformer.com\/wetland-types\/<\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.uk\/news\/wetlands-biodiversity-climate-change<\/a><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.wetlands-initiative.org\/what-is-a-wetland<\/a><\/p>\n [5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/observances\/world-wetlands-day<\/a><\/p>\n [6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.zurich.com\/en\/media\/magazine\/2022\/why-we-should-care-about-and-protect-our-wetlands<\/a><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> https:\/\/bg.copernicus.org\/articles\/2\/1\/2005\/<\/a><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0043542<\/a><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> https:\/\/sciencing.com\/do-wetlands-filter-water-6398284.html<\/a><\/p>\n [10]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/library\/services_05_e.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [11]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/library\/services_05_e.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [12]<\/a> https:\/\/www.zurich.com\/en\/media\/magazine\/2022\/why-we-should-care-about-and-protect-our-wetlands<\/a><\/p>\n [13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.zurich.com\/en\/media\/magazine\/2022\/why-we-should-care-about-and-protect-our-wetlands<\/a><\/p>\n [14]<\/a> https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20812795<\/a><\/p>\n [15]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iucn.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-11\/indo-burma-wetland-outlook-2022_v4.5_pages-compressed.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [16]<\/a> https:\/\/wwfint.awsassets.panda.org\/downloads\/wwf_50_years_ddd__lrsm_1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [17]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n [18]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/library\/services_05_e.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [19]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/about\/partnerships\/partnerships-other-conventions<\/a><\/p>\n [20]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ramsar.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/library\/wetlands_sdgs_e.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [21]<\/a> https:\/\/www.unep.org\/un-biodiversity-conference-cop-15<\/a><\/p>\n [22]<\/a> https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2335373-rewetting-dried-wetlands-could-stop-100-billion-tons-of-co2-emissions<\/a><\/p>\n [23]<\/a> https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2335373-rewetting-dried-wetlands-could-stop-100-billion-tons-of-co2-emissions<\/a><\/p>\n [24]<\/a> https:\/\/www.wrc.unsw.edu.au\/news\/turning-the-tide-on-the-hunter-wetlands<\/a><\/p>\n [25]<\/a> https:\/\/www.wri.org\/insights\/climate-action-progress-indicators-2030-2050-targets<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":112599,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a wetland?<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Picture1-300x240.png\")
The working definition of a wetland is \u201can area of inland or coastal land partly covered, or saturated by, water\u201d, though there are more formal descriptions such as the one used by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)[2]<\/a>, of \u201c\u2026lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Which are necessary to enforce legal protection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Picture2-1-169x300.jpg\")
Very broadly speaking, there are several \u00a0major categories of wetlands[3]<\/a>[4]<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/World-Wetlands-Day-150x146.jpg\")
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHavens of biodiversity<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/shutterstock_1520274866-scaled.jpg\")
Boosting carbon reduction<\/h2>\n
![\"Wetlands](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1910-ALJ-Wetlands-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNatural water filters<\/h2>\n
![\"East](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pic4.jpg\")
Extreme weather protection<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1910-ALJ-Wetlands-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nUnder attack<\/h2>\n
Progress towards protection<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1910-ALJ-Wetlands-4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Global](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Picture5-1-117x150.png\")
A further breakthrough came in 2015 with the establishment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/a> (SDGs), aimed at achieving a \u201cbetter and more sustainable future for all\u201d by 2030.\u00a0 Many of the individual SDGs can only be achieved by a concerted focus on preserving and protecting wetlands, as the Ramsar Convention makes clear in its 2018 report on wetlands and the SDGs.[20]<\/a><\/p>\nNew technologies<\/h2>\n
Hope not hype<\/h2>\n