World Wetlands Day 2022: Wetlands Action for People and Nature
World Wetlands Day 2022: Wetlands Action for People and Nature
2022 should be a different year for the planet and, therefore, for mankind. The past two years of pandemic paralysed the world and showed us how easily it can collapse, but we also were able to see with different eyes the role that nature plays in our lives.
World Wetlands Day, celebrated on February 2 since 1971 by the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar), is, for the first time, officially celebrated in the context of the United Nations. The approval by the UN General Assembly as an international day is just a glimpse of the immediate and lasting global action that we can make happen to address the health and climate crises.
Under this year's theme, “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”, in 2022 World Wetlands Day highlights the importance of wetland conservation and their sustainable and rational use. It is a call to action focused on intensifying measures and investing in wetland conservation, management and restoration as an effective solution to halt the biodiversity loss and climate change crises.
Take part in the first celebration of world wetlands day as a United Nations international day with the hashtags #WorldWetlandsDay and #ActForWetlands
Valuing wetlands
Today, wetlands cover approximately 6% of the planet's land surface, yet according to the Convention, almost 90% have been degraded since the 18th century and are disappearing three times faster than forests.
To value wetlands as we ought to and address current challenges, we should be aware of their multiple benefits, as they are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, and global economies, among others.
2022 should be a different year for the planet and, therefore, for mankind. The past two years of pandemic paralysed the world and showed us how easily it can collapse, but we also were able to see with different eyes the role that nature plays in our lives.
World Wetlands Day, celebrated on February 2 since 1971 by the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar), is, for the first time, officially celebrated in the context of the United Nations. The approval by the UN General Assembly as an international day is just a glimpse of the immediate and lasting global action that we can make happen to address the health and climate crises.
Under this year's theme, “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”, in 2022 World Wetlands Day highlights the importance of wetland conservation and their sustainable and rational use. It is a call to action focused on intensifying measures and investing in wetland conservation, management and restoration as an effective solution to halt the biodiversity loss and climate change crises.
Wetland loss not only affects the planet, but also people. Considering that there are 2.2 billion people without clean water and 485,000 of them die every year, and that water insecurity was a key reason for conflicts in at least 45 countries in 2017, knowing that wetlands provide almost all of our freshwater should be more than enough reason to value them with three key actions:
- Identify the multiple benefits and nature-based solutions wetlands provide.
- Recognize the importance of wetlands through economic valuation.
- Ensure that policies and decision making reflect the full value of wetlands.
Managing wetlands
Wetland loss affects people primarily in terms of water scarcity, exposure to flooding and extreme weather events, loss of livelihoods and well-being, and food insecurity. As for the planet, the decrease in biodiversity, the increase in carbon and methane emissions and the loss of natural freshwater filtration also affect us directly.
Therefore, the wise use of wetlands requires not only an understanding of the immediate consequences of wetland loss and degradation, but also of the factors that drive them in order to address their root causes:
- Excessive water withdrawal for irrigation, energy production and supply to industry and households.
- Exposure to pollution from chemicals, plastics and sewage.
- Overfishing.
- Climate change.
The Convention defines wise use of wetlands as "the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development". Therefore, measures to promote it include the adoption of national laws, policies, and plans on wetlands, either separately or as a component of wider initiatives; the development of programs covering wetland inventory, monitoring, research, training, education, and public awareness; and the development of integrated management and wise use plans for wetlands.
Restoring wetlands
According to the UN, ecosystem restoration is defined as a process of reversing the degradation of ecosystems to recover their ecological functionality, that is, to improve the productivity and capacity of ecosystems to meet the needs of society. This World Wetland Day takes place within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, a great opportunity to reverse the degradation of our planet's wetlands.
Thus, the Convention sets out the following essential elements for the restoration of wetlands:
- Water management.
- Re-establish suitable vegetation.
- Manage pollution.
- Involve local communities.
- Establish public-private partnership programs.
Loving wetlands
World Wetlands Day is an opportunity to coordinate global, national and local wetland awareness initiatives. Our ability to conserve them depends, above all, on our will, but also on our ability to foster greater awareness and understanding of their multiple benefits.
Discover the 10 largest wetlands in the world
Wetlands are unique ecosystems that should be protected because of the many benefits they bring to the environment and to human beings. Find out about the ten largest wetlands in the world in this compilation by Águeda García de Durango, editor-in-chief of Smart Water Magazine.