Abstract:

Wetlands are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. Up to 40% of the world’s species live and breed in wetlands. More than one billion people depend on them for a living and directly or indirectly, wetlands provide almost all of the world’s consumption of freshwater. In addition, wetlands represent just three percent of total land area, but sequester 30 percent of all soil carbon. Maintaining and restoring damaged wetlands is necessary to ensure soil carbon is not released into the atmosphere. On equal areas, wetlands store between 10 and 50 times more carbon than tropical forests. Yet these wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests according to the Global Outlook Report, 2018 by RAMSAR and UNFCCC. In addition, more than 25% of all wetlands plants and animals are at risk of extinction. Approximately 35% of the world’s wetlands were lost between 1970-2015 and the loss rate is accelerating, driven by population increase, urbanization, and changes to land and water use and to agriculture while the ones left are under threat from water drainage, pollution, unsustainable use, invasive species, disrupted flows from dams and sediment dumping from deforestation and soil erosion.