Why Wetlands Are Essential to Our Future
Often overlooked, wetlands play a crucial role in climate regulation, disaster prevention and biodiversity conservation.
For decades they were drained, filled in and treated as “wasted” land. Yet wetlands, including marshes, peatlands, lagoons and floodplain meadows, are among the planet's most useful ecosystems and among its most threatened.
Irreplaceable services
Wetlands function as natural infrastructure, combining several roles that no artificial structure performs as effectively at the same time:
- Landscape sponge: absorbs floodwater and releases it during dry periods.
- Living filter: cleans water by retaining sediments and pollutants.
- Biodiversity reservoir: provides habitat for migratory birds, amphibians and fish.
- Carbon sink: peatlands are among the largest terrestrial carbon stores.
Peatlands, which accumulate organic matter over thousands of years, illustrate what is at stake. Destroying them releases this carbon; protecting them keeps it trapped.
Protect and restore
The trend is slowly beginning to reverse through reconnecting rivers with floodplains, restoring peatlands and strengthening legal protection. These projects deliver combined benefits for climate, water, biodiversity and flood protection, often at a lower cost than the artificial infrastructure they replace.
Sometimes the best flood barrier is a marsh allowed to function.
- About 22% of the world's wetlands have disappeared since 1970.
- Wetlands regulate floods and droughts, filter water and store large amounts of carbon.
- Their restoration is one of the most cost-effective investments in nature.