Wetlands
Conservation and Sustainable Use
Dr. Marina Rosales Benites de Franco
Prof. National University Federico Villarreal
Wetlands
and Human well being
Wetlands are
vital ecosystems for our human well being. They provide essential benefits
“ecosystem services” as freshwater supply, to flood control, serve as a natural
sponge against flooding and drought, groundwater recharge, purify our water,
help to prevent disaster risk, protect our coastline, can contribute to
regulating floods and the impacts of storms, mitigate climate change storing
carbon, and enhance adaptation to climate change with its biodiversity,
contribute to land formation and increasing resilience to storms, give
recreational spaces, and goods as food and building materials. The water
security is an essential ecosystem service to human survives.
Wetlands play a
critical role in maintaining many natural cycles and supporting a wide range of
biodiversity. Wetlands are also tremendously productive ecosystems that provide
a myriad of services to society worldwide.
Wetlands are the
major habitat for most of the world’s water birds and key habitat for migratory
species and many of them are threatened. Water birds use wetlands as feeding
and breeding grounds. Migratory water birds use wetlands throughout their range
which can sometimes literally be from pole to pole. The feeding, breeding and
stop-over areas across and between continents that migratory birds depend on
requires coordinated wetlands conservation efforts among many nations.
Wetlands ensure fresh water only some 3 % of the
world’s water is fresh, with most of that frozen. Only 1% of that, or 0.03% of
total water, is available for direct use by people.
It is important stand out local communities and the
poor and vulnerable populations depend direct on productive wetlands.
Wetlands endangered
Scientific researcher’s report that 64%
wetlands have disappeared since 1900 and 87% lost since 1700. Main causes
include changes in land use, water diversion (dams, dikes and canalization),
infrastructure development, air and water pollution, and excess nutrients.
These drivers are related with lack of good governance, economic policies
priorities lead to the wetlands to change in land use to agriculture, grazing,
building urban areas, mining and non native species aquaculture.
Convention on Wetlands “Ramsar”
The Convention on wetlands is an
intergovernmental treaty that provides cooperation for conservation and wise
use of wetlands and their resources. There are 168 contracting Parties, 2 186
Ramsar Sites, their surface is 208 449 277 ha.
The Convention defines wetlands as all
lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands,
peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other
coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice
paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.
Management suggestions
Wetlands should
manage as vital productive ecosystems in the framework of green economy. All
the government´s commitment need to take the steps necessary to ensure wetlands
ecological character, their structures and functions. The investments on
wetlands should to build its nature infrastructure to restore many endangered
wetlands. Aichi Target 15 encourages restoring at least 15 per cent of degraded
ecosystems in the countries.
All the wetlands
should have legal protection that would not permit change land uses as a
minimum 60 per cent. The Ramsar Sites need to be intangibles, would have legal
protection for this purpose since they are recognized as being of significant
value not only for the country or the countries in which they are located, but
for humanity as a whole.
At this regard,
all the governments should manage wetlands as vital productive ecosystems in the
green economy.
Bibliography
CBD Press Brief.
Wetlands and Ecosystem Services. [in line]. [Date:
February 3th 2015]. Retrieved
from :http://passthrough.fw-
notify.net/download/876351/http://www.cbd.int/waters/doc/wwd2015/wwd-2015-press-briefs-en.pdf 3.02.2015
Wetlands. Importance. [in line]. [Date: February 2th
2015]. Retrieved from: http://www.wetlands.org/News/tabid/66/ID/4046/Why-do-we-care-about-wetlands.aspx
The Importance of
Wetlands and Wetlands of International Importance. [in
line]. [Date: February 1th 2015]. : Retrieved from http://www.ramsar.org/about/wetlands-of-international-importance
