Yesterday, Sunday February 2nd was World Wetlands Day (WWD). As 2014 is the UN International Year of Family Farming, the theme for this year is ‘Wetlands and Agriculture.’ The slogal for the Day is ‘Wetlands and Agriculture: Partners for Growth,’ placing a focus on the need for the wetland, water and agricultural sectors to work together for the best shared outcomes.
Our wetlands are of great importance to the health of the planet and all its inhabitants. Our waters provide habitat for a myriad of species, recharge groundwater and provide opportunities for wildlife viewing and other outdoor recreation.
As is becoming increasingly obvious climate change is drastically altering the water cycle. We are now living with more intense storms, floods, droughts, in addition to rising sea-levels. Many species are suffering from the impacts of habitat loss and we continue to make ever-increasing demands on our waters. Now more than ever we need to protect and restore these precious resources and the beneficial functions they offer.
WWD marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has provided materials so that government agencies, non-governmental organizations, conservation organizations, and groups of citizens can help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.
The Ramsar Convention Secretariat
The Ramsar Convention Secretariat’s reports of WWD activities of all types, from lectures and seminars, nature walks, children’s art contests, sampan races, and community clean-up days, to radio and television interviews and letters to newspapers, to the launch of new wetland policies, new Ramsar sites, and new programmes at the national level. Government agencies and private citizens from all over the world have sent us their news, often with photographs, and these annual summaries and over 1000 individual reports, with more than 1400 images, make an excellent archive of ideas for future celebrations.
And each year, the Ramsar Secretariat, with generous financial assistance from the private sector Danone Group, has offered a new selection of posters, stickers, videos, pocket calendars, leaflets and information packs free of charge and has suggested a unifying theme for the benefit of those who wish to use it.
The Danone-Evian Fund for Water generously supports World Wetlands Day as part of a collaborative partnership since 1998 between the Ramsar Convention and the Danone Group.
Click here to see local, national and international adaptations of WWD materials, the collection of all the WWD cartoons, the collection of WWD Children’s activities.
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
In addition to the work of the Ramsar Convention a number of organizations work to protect wetlands, one of the best is the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Their effort include:
Wetlands – Those amazingly productive and diverse waters that stand between upland and open water. As important as they are to water quality, flood storage, and biodiversity, they are vanishing at such a quick rate in some parts of the country that within our lifetime they may just be a memory. Economists estimate that one acre of wetlands provides about $10,000 worth of ecosystem services which include: filtering and recharging drinking water, preventing flooding, protecting our coasts from hurricanes and storms, and providing habitat for diverse wildlife populations.
Streams – Where water often first surfaces from underground and begins its march to the sea. They form a complex hydrologic network that absorbs and then gradually releases nutrients, organic matter, and stream flow downstream. These headwaters support a staggering diversity of fish and wildlife species. Like wetlands, they provide essential “services” for humans such as preserving water quality and lessening the impacts of flooding.
Floodplains- The flood-prone bottomlands that cradle rivers, streams, and wetlands are nature’s best defense against floods and provide invaluable functions for wildlife and communities. Undisturbed floodplains — or those that have been restored to a near natural state — provide such benefits as flood and erosion control, groundwater recharge, enhanced farmlands, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. Development along floodplains puts people and property in harm’s way, resulting in more frequent and severe floods, puts species at risk, and compromises water supplies.
To protect these valuable waters, NWF:
Works to restore Clean Water Act protections lost due to two controversial Supreme Court decisions. We advocate for legislation and agency action to restore Clean Water Act protections.
Advocates for preventing wetland and stream destruction and pollution through strong enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Since passage in 1972, the Clean Water Act has made great strides in protecting and restoring America’s waters. A series of court cases and agency decisions threaten to reverse the unprecedented progress that was made over the previous 30 years. NWF litigates, advocates, and works with federal, state and local agencies to keep safeguards strong and protect our waters from development and population pressures.
Urges agencies to consider global warming and wildlife impacts when making decisions affecting our nation’s waters. Decisions that affect our nation’s waters must take into account the impacts of global warming on fish and wildlife — especially endangered species — and the aquatic habitat they depend on. NWF litigates, advocates, and collaborates with all levels of government to protect our wetlands, streams, and floodplains.
Keeps people and wildlife out of harm’s way by promoting nonstructural solutions to flood control. Flooding poses a major threat to people and wildlife. National Wildlife Federation works at the local and national level to prevent development along floodplains. NWF has actively advocated for reforming the National Flood Insurance Program so that flood insurance rates reflect real risk.
Prevents the construction of water projects that will degrade, destroy, or alter waters’ natural and beneficial functions and promotes economically and environmentally sound solutions. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water civil works projects and outdated federal water policies can have devastating impacts on the nation’s rivers, wetlands, and coasts. National Wildlife Federation coordinates the Water Protection Network to help hundreds of organizations and community leaders understand and influence Corps projects and federal water policy to ensure water projects and policies are economically and environmentally sound. NWF is also leading a campaign to prevent the Corps from constructing the New Madrid Levee Project.
Works to enact new national water planning guidelines that are more friendly to wildlife, that preserve intact ecosystems to feed our economic growth and buffer our communities from increasing threats from global warming. The 21st century, with the increasing pressures on our nation’s water resources, demands a more proactive approach to water planning, rather than the piecemeal, project-by-project approach taken thus far.
© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
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