1 February 2023
Wherever land meets water, life abounds. Wetlands exist in every corner of this beautiful planet and have often been referred to as the arteries and veins of the Earth. Majestic and mighty, wetlands are a sight to behold. They support critical ecosystems and biodiversity; in fact, . They are crucial to agriculture and fisheries. They act as water sources and purifiers, and they protect our shores. are the planet’s greatest natural carbon stores.
Despite their importance, nearly of the world’s wetlands have been degraded or lost to date, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. Therefore, there is an urgent need to raise global awareness on wetlands to reverse their rapid loss and to encourage the restoration and conservation of these vital ecosystems.
World Wetlands Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in of 30 August 2021, is celebrated on 2 February each year to raise awareness and increase people’s understanding of the critical importance of wetlands. The adoption of the resolution was an important moment for the (the Ramsar Convention), as it reaffirmed that wetlands are critical for people and nature and essential to achieving sustainable development. The Convention is part of the , which is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has as its objective to massively scale up the restoration of degraded or destroyed wetland ecosystems. The Decade also aims to use restoration to address issues related to the climate crisis, food and water security, biodiversity loss and other elements that are integral to the SDGs.
This is why the theme for the 2023 commemoration of World Wetlands Day is “It’s Time for Wetland Restoration”. With only seven years remaining to achieve the SDGs, time is of the essence. The Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is therefore a great opportunity to rethink how humans impact the environment and a chance to restore vital ecosystems such as wetlands. By activating a diverse group of players, from the general public to key stakeholders, we’re mobilizing an entire generation for restoration.
At the 14th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention, held in November 2022, the secretariat honoured with Wetland City Accreditation in recognition of the work undertaken by the mayors of those cities to either conserve or restore inner city wetlands. These unique urban areas provide critical ecosystem services for people and nature. The current trends in human settlement potentially pose major threats for wetland conservation and wise use. As cities grow, development increases, driving the demand for land and the tendency to encroach on wetlands. In many instances, wetlands have been viewed as wastelands and are thus converted for other purposes, including their use as dumping grounds.
At the Conference of the Contracting Parties, four individuals taking incredible action to conserve and restore wetlands were awarded the Ramsar Wetlands Conservation Award. One outstanding recipient is Fernanda Samuel, a young woman from Angola who spearheaded the restoration of a mangrove ecosystem, mobilizing many other youths within her community to achieve that goal. The restoration efforts led by Ms. Samuel have contributed to improving the livelihoods of fishing communities and inspired more individuals, including entrepreneurs, representatives from local government and officials at the highest level of the Government of Angola, to join her.
As part of her campaign, Ms. Samuel convinced several entrepreneurs to stop development activities that were detrimental to the mangroves and encouraged the local government to rethink the delivery of permits for construction of infrastructure in the mangrove areas. Through this work, she prevented more than 17,000 hectares of mangroves from being destroyed for the construction of ports and factories to support the oil industry. With help from over 4,500 volunteers, an estimated 3,000 hectares of mangroves have been restored through organized clean-up and reforestation campaigns. As a result of these activities, communities have seen the return of migratory birds as well as fish, crustaceans and molluscs that support the local fishing communities. Ms. Samuel also inspired the Vice-President of Angola to jointly agree on a challenge to plant up to 1 million mangroves along the Angolan coast.
Ms. Samuel’s story speaks to the importance and centrality of ordinary people taking extraordinary action within their communities. For World Wetlands Day 2023, we’re calling on an entire generation to act in three specific ways:
Conscious choices to minimize our impact on wetlands.
Persuasive voices to educate and activate others to get involved in wetland restoration.
Bold actions and taking part in wetland restoration efforts locally.
Governments and other stakeholders are critical enablers in making wetland restoration happen on the ground. Three actions they can take to spearhead restoration include:
- Creating a national inventory of wetlands.
- Setting specific targets for wetland restoration.
- Promoting wise use and good management practices.
Through such efforts, governments and other stakeholders will address several issues related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as wetlands make use of cost-effective, nature-based solutions to provide environmental and socioeconomic benefits for people and nature. A diverse range of wetland ecosystems are broadly addressed in the SDGs. However, as conservation and restoration are critical to wetlands now more than ever, it is important that countries focus on target-based assessments to better understand wetland functionality in a changing climate and for sustainable development. And to undertake these steps, everyone in the community must be a part of the solution.
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