“Spreading the voice of wetlands requires us to explore new communication formats”
Wetlands are vital for people, nature and climate, yet they remain under threat. To explore how communication can raise awareness and inspire action, we spoke with Amélie Tagu, Communications Officer for Wetlands International Europe, who works in Brussels to amplify the voice of wetlands in the EU and beyond.
How do you think communication in the water sector has evolved in recent years?
As a Brussels-based NGO advocating towards EU institutions to safeguard and restore wetlands for people, nature and climate, our major audiences are EU decision-makers, civil society organisations and, to a lesser extent, the general public. Within this scope, I foresee two main evolutions in the way we now communicate.
First, we adapt to the current European political context, which has removed funding for the overall support to environmental organisations, affecting wetlands in particular. To disseminate our messages with a stronger and united voice, we organised ourselves in alliances with other Brussels-based NGOs working in the water and wetland sectors. Many became really influential, such as the Living Rivers Europe coalition. Jointly publishing press releases and delivering common recommendations on the latest EU developments enables us to widen our voice and increase our visibility.
Communicating about water, about wetlands' benefits and what they can bring to our planet, is more important than ever
My second observation concerns online communications. Social media is a fast-evolving sphere. We need to follow the trends and keep being creative to stay visible. I recently noticed that adopting an informal-humorous tone (such as Instagram trends, entertaining reels, and interactive games) helps reach more people and expand the scope of our messages.
Overall, I want to highlight that wetlands cannot speak for themselves, but their voice needs to be heard to ensure a sustainable future. And I think the best way to keep spreading the voice of wetlands requires us to continuously challenge ourselves by exploring new communication formats.
Why do you think it is important to communicate about water?
Healthy wetlands and clean waters are central to tackling the greatest challenges of our era: they enable the enhancement of water and food security, help reverse nature loss, increase our resilience to climate change and underpin sustainable development.
When we speak about an element, like water, an ongoing challenge is to trigger empathy about it; to “personalise” it in order to create a storytelling around the news
They are our climate superheroes, and yet, they are disappearing. Today, 22% of wetlands have been lost globally since 1970, a quarter of the remaining wetlands are in poor ecological condition, and Europe observes a continuous deterioration of its wetlands (2025 Global Wetlands Outlook by the Convention on Wetlands). Even if these facts speak for themselves, we still need much more EU investment and immediate action to safeguard our remaining wetlands and clean our waters.
For these reasons, I believe that communicating about water, about wetlands' benefits and what they can bring to our planet, is even more important. By raising our visibility, we can extend our network, the impact and influence of our messages. Hopefully, they will be heard by the people who have the power to act before it’s too late.
What are the most challenging aspects of communicating water-related news?
When we speak about an element, like water, an ongoing challenge is to trigger empathy about it; to “personalise” it in order to create a storytelling around the news. In this storytelling, we strive to always make sure that our audience understands where the water comes from, as the water we consume daily from the tap originally comes from wetlands that store and supply it.
Could you highlight one of Wetlands International Europe’s communication success stories?
Last May 2025, we organised the third edition of “WalkingRivers”, a global call to walk 5-7 km along local rivers and celebrate how amazing rivers are. This movement aims to remind everyone to appreciate and protect the rivers that connect us all. And this year’s edition was remarkably successful: over 2,500 people from 26 countries organised more than 100 walks around the world to celebrate their rivers.