03/02/2024
Nice to participate in on webinar on Wetlands Conservation as speaker and discussant this evening.
The three types of wetland - Inland wetlands: Marshes, lakes, rivers, floodplains, peatlands and swamps; Coastal wetlands: Saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and coral reefs; and Human-made wetlands: Fish ponds, rice paddies and salt pans, cover around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, but 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.
Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism and for jobs. Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems and for our climate, providing essential ecosystem services, such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification. More than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods – that’s about one in eight people on Earth.
Sadly the wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. Recognized human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species and climate change.
This is result of mistakenly seeing wetlands as wastelands rather than lifegiving sources of jobs, incomes, and essential ecosystem services. As per UN observation - the key challenge is to change mindsets to encourage governments and communities to value and prioritize wetlands.
Thus, there is urgent need to engage all the stakeholders towards conservation of these natural resources often regarded as kidneys of earth. More waterbodies are required to be given Ramsar status perhaps by relaxation in 9 criteria. Artificial intelligence can be employed to conduct survey of birds visiting alpine lakes and other unreachable waterbodies especially in extreme winters.
All in all a wonderful learning experience.
