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Wetlands

The world’s wetlands are in crisis, with approximately half of the world’s wetlands destroyed by human activity. The major threats are urban expansion, pollution, invasive species and erosion. As land is cleared for agriculture, building developments and infrastructure, vital wetland habitats are destroyed. Another considerable threat is water management, including damming and canalization, which cuts off water supply to wetlands, rendering them destitute and lifeless. 

Yet wetlands are vital ecosystems that impact every single person’s daily life.

Wetlands

What is a wetland?

Wetlands are habitats where an area of land is saturated with water either seasonally or permanently. They are found in every country in the world. 

These habitats include peats, marshes, rivers and lakes, mangroves, swamps, deltas and floodplains. 

Wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, comparable to rainforests and coral reefs. They are rich in biodiversity and home to a vast number of species, from the smallest micro-organisms to large mammals and birds. 

Wetlands are essential to their surrounding environment, the animals that live in them, and to people. The numerous benefits they offer include: 

  • Water filtration and maintaining water quality.
  • Providing essential habitats and nursery areas. 
  • Storing water during periods of drought, and acting as a reservoir and natural sponges for floods. 
  • Maintaining water supply and preventing erosion. 
  • Additionally, wetland ecosystems are able to absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing and trapping it within the system. This functionality is referred to as a “carbon sink” and is essential in combating climate change.

A wetland can be thought of as a “food court,” providing thousands of species with food, water and shelter. Wetlands are circular systems, with each component interconnected. As plant matter and other organisms die and decay, they cycle back into the system, providing nutrients to all other organisms up the food chain.

Many species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish rely on wetlands as safe spaces for breeding and nurseries. Wetlands are relatively isolated habitats, with the internal conditions mostly remaining stable.

Wetlands

Humans rely on wetlands for a variety of functions

Various food products are sourced from wetlands, including rice and some berries, fish and shellfish. Many species of livestock rely on wetland areas for grazing. Wetlands also are the source for important medicinal plants. 

Economically, wetlands are essential to human society: Approximately $47 billion (£37 billion)  is derived from wetlands annually. Wetlands provide spaces for immersing in and celebrating nature, attracting tourists from all around the world. Millions of people enjoy the nature walks, birding, fishing and water activities that wetlands provide, and these visits inject vital funds into local economies and, directly or indirectly, provide over one billion people with jobs globally.

What can you do to help wetlands?

  • Educate yourself on the importance of wetlands and share this information with your family, friends and peers.
  • Explore and appreciate a wetland area near you.
  • Use biodegradable materials and products in your daily household routines. Harsh chemicals found in common household cleaning products leach into groundwater, and eventually end up in wetlands. These chemicals destroy the water quality, the environmental stability and the home of many plants and animals.
  • Use organic products in your garden and avoid pesticides and harsh chemicals as much as possible, as these chemicals will end up in the groundwater and filter straight through to wetland habitats.
  • Be water wise! Save water when you can, keeping in mind that water is a finite resource on this planet and the future of vulnerable habitats like wetlands depends on it.
Wetlands
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