Celebrating Wetlands and Biodiversity today

Mangroves at Radha Beach in Andaman Islands, India, circa Nov. 2016 ©Pallavi Bharadwaj

<6 mins. read, approx. 595 words

Personal context:

One of my very first volunteer projects was on wetlands. Janhit Foundation, a small local environmental grassroots nonprofit, had undertaken a census of all ponds in and around Meerut district for the very first time. I was in-charge of translating that entire report from Hindi to English for a wider circulation among the funders, program partners and international experts. I am very fortunate and thankful to the wetlands as that project catapulted my interest and career in water resources management and global development. That assignment also helped me land my very first full time assignment as the first women Program Coordinator at Janhit Foundation in the early 2000s!

What exactly is a wetland?

A wetland is a place where water covers the soil or is near the soil surface for varying periods of time during the year. Some examples of wetlands that you might have seen are lakes, marshes, swamps, estuaries, tidal flats, river flood plains, mangroves, ponds (including vernal ponds) and even rice fields.

Ramsar Convention on Wetland:

Today marks the anniversary of 7 countries coming together in 1971 to protect wetlands through the Ramsar Convention. This number has grown to 171 countries as of 2019.

Why should you care?

I would say that if you have ever been to a beach, lake, forest, pond or any natural water body to relax and take a break, then you must care. Additionally to prove my point, these are the three key messages from the Ramsar convention for today.

1. 40 % of the world’s plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands: Wetlands are an important habitat for biodiversity.

• Over 100,000 fresh water species can be found in wetlands

2. Wetland biodiversity matters for life to thrive

• Swamp vegetation filters pollutants from water, which improves water quality
• Wetlands provide livelihoods for one billion people
• Rice grown in wetland paddies is the staple diet of nearly three billion people, while most commercial fish depend on coastal wetlands for part of their life cycle.
• Turtles, crocodiles, shrimps and others lay their eggs and rear their young in the mangroves (a type of coastal wetlands). See the title pic.
• 30% of land-based carbon is stored in peatlands. Peatlands, mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes store carbon and matter for climate action
• Mangroves and coral reefs protect coastal communities during storm surges, hurricanes and tsunamis, which reduces risks of disasters by providing buffers.
• Wetlands provide ecosystem services worth USD 47 trillion annually, more than those from forests, deserts or grasslands

3. Biodiversity is in steep decline and wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests

• One million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, with wetland species declining the most.
• 35 % of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970’s – causes include pollution from waste, draining or infilling for agriculture and construction, overfishing, over extraction, encroachment, rapid urbanization, among others.
• 25% of wetland species are threatened with extinction, including water birds, freshwater-dependent mammals, marine turtles, and coral-reef- building species
• Between 1970 and 2014, populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles declined by 60%

In conclusion:

It’s no surprise to say that it will take more than just one day to help protect the invaluable ecosystems that the wetlands are. It will take a combination of policies, technological innovation, market-based solutions combined with political will and  individual efforts to reach that goal. If protected today, then the wetlands shall help alleviate the type of extreme events observed in not only cities like Chennai, India but also in most major inland and coastal cities of the world.

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