|
|
Wetlands are areas of marshes, swamps, peatlands or water-covered surfaces, whether stagnant or flowing, fresh or brackish waters; they include floodplains or adjacent coastal areas, as well as islands or seawaters within wetlands.
This definition may not stress the importance that wetlands have for the environment, an importance which has also led them to be dubbed “the kidneys of the earth”, due to their role as natural filtering processes, replenishing groundwater and making it apt for human consumption.
Wetlands also regulate river volumes, slowing water flow in the rain season, thus preventing freshets and floods during such periods and droughts in the dry seasons. Furthermore, a large portion of the world’s food supply depends on wetlands, as they are the natural habitat for many crops and for one of our leading cereals: rice. Moreover, alluvial grasslands are the main source of food for bovine cattle, and most of the fish we consume live in wetlands during at least some part of their life cycle. Wetlands are the only natural habitat for many rare species, and these areas are vital for the diversity of animal and plant life in the world. They are also essential for some economies, as they are key attractions for ecological tourism or because they supply raw materials for the production of paper or basketry goods. Wetlands also have favorable micro and macroclimatic effects. The evapotranspiration generated by wetlands maintains local levels of humidity and rainfall.
It is estimated that approximately 8,600,000 sq. km. (around 6.4% of the earth’s land surface), an area somewhat larger than Europe, are covered by wetlands. Wetlands are found in every continent except Antarctica and in every climate, from the tropics to the tundra. However, it is calculated that since 1990, and with the alleged intention of recovering these lands for other uses, nearly half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed, adding yet another threat to the many posed by human activity to the earth’s ecosystems.
As of 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, an intergovernmental treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, provides a framework for local action and international cooperation in the conservation and rational use of wetlands and wetland resources. More than 100 countries have ratified the Convention, contributing to draw up a list of nearly 900 wetlands protected by the Convention. This list is continuously expanded through the efforts of ecological organizations and the concern of some environmental ministries.
On November 18 through 26, 2002, the Eight Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention was held in Valencia, Spain. This meeting included a conference of NGOs and local communities who denounced the Parties’ general failure to implement the recommendations and resolutions adopted in previous conferences, and demanded stricter control to enforce them, emphasizing in particular the threat posed to wetlands by the growing number of large dams being built and the intensification of unsustainable agricultural and cattle-raising systems associated with these ecosystems.
Versión
en español
|
|
|
| |
 |
 |
In-depth
reports |
| Detailed
reports on key issues |
The water crisis
If access to water is a basic human right, should its provision be left in the hands of private corporations?
Desertification
Over 250 million people are directly affected, and one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk.
Rio+10: Earth Summit 2002
Ten years after Rio ’92, is there still an agenda for sustainable development?
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Ramsar Convention |
 |
|
Civil society |
|
|
Information resources |
|
|
Bibliography and links |
|
|
Specific wetland sites |
|
|
Articles and reports |
|
-
Resurrection planned for magnificent wetlands in Costa Rica's Pacific lowlands
Source: Eco-Exchange
Katiana Murillo
With more than 247,000 acres of mangroves, salt and freshwater marshes, Costa Rica's lower Tempisque River basin is one of the largest wetland systems in the Central America Pacific lowlands. But to the dismay of many ecologists, the basin has also become one of the country's most intensely farmed areas, accounting for almost all of the melon, half of the sugar cane and a third of the rice production in Costa Rica.
-
Wetlands: wastelands or sources of wealth?
Source: Third World Network Features
Barry James
Wetlands have often been seen as wastelands, with governments seeking to drain them both to eliminate malaria and other water-borne diseases and to create more agricultural land. But now the world’s swamps, bogs and marshes are coming back into their own as science discovers the vital role they play in regulating water quality and quantity and influencing the local climate.
-
Wetland management: the case of the pantanal wetland
Source: United Nations University
This report by the United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies analyses the inter-linkages between different Multilateral Environmental Agreements in the context of the Pantanal as an example of how a greater focus on their synergies could help achieve sustainable development objectives. Pdf docuement. January 2005.
-
Rehabilitating wetlands: an African case study
Source: World Conservation Union
The construction of a dam where the Senegal river emptied into the Atlantic Ocean was the cause of the massive destruction of Mauritania's Diawling National Park, home to one of Africa's biggest wetlands. A project to repair the damage through artificial flooding managed to rejuvenate the freshwater ecosystem with the help of local communities, setting an example for wetland rehabilitation in other areas. PDF document. April 2005.
-
The role of local knowledge in wetland management in Ethiopia
Source: id21
Wetlands are one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, performing a variety of important ecological functions. However, planners have often seen wetlands as wasted land, which needs to be made economically productive. This research paper explores how local people manage wetlands in southwest Ethiopia, and examines the options for sustainable wetland development. January 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
|
