Resilient wetland communities
Our work with development, economic, and funding partners on sustainable agriculture, reduced water consumption, and integrated planning continues to break new ground, safeguarding precious wetland resources in some of the most fragile environments in the world. We worked with land users to implement better management practices on more than 46,000 hectares of floodplain habitats under production (largely cattle raising / livestock) in the Paraná Delta in Argentina and the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil, while in the High Andes, we encouraged stakeholders to transition to improved livestock grazing on more than 21,000 hectares in the Argentinian Puna, contributing to wetlands and water resources conservation. In Mali and Ethiopia, we piloted technological innovations for reducing the impacts of smallholder farming on wetland landscapes, including through bunding to reduce upstream soil erosion, vermiculture to reduce dependence on expensive chemical fertilisers, re-planting of slopes with indigenous and income-generating tree species, and more efficient use of water in irrigated vegetable production, leading to increased household production, improved incomes and a better environment for farmers. In the Lake Turkana basin in Kenya, we assisted stakeholders in small-scale demonstrations – a start towards larger ambition - to switch to climate-smart farming and resilient livelihood activities, including animal fodder, vegetables and agro- forestry, and sustainable fishing. We focused on building both the proofs of concept and the alliances of partners required to mobilise finance for the widespread deployment of nature-based freshwater solutions. In Sahelian Africa, we organised a Roundtable meeting in Bamako, Mali during which senior executives from 3 river basin authorities, 6 countries and 5 major bilateral donors crafted a declaration recognising wetlands restoration as a force for peace, security and stability in the region coupled with a plan of action. Important as a lever to mobilise government and donor commitment to work in the region, the declaration is an important step to mobilise commitments to wetland restoration and related programming. We continued to build our large-scale Blue Lifelines for a Secure Sahel initiatives with partners, governments, and international organisations, and which aims to mobilise large- scale investment to restore 30 million hectares of wetland and increase the resilience of 20 million people. In the Himalaya in India, we facilitated the economic valuation of key landscape functions to build resilience and secure EUR 5 million investments for Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation.
RIVERS & LAKES 2022
By 2030, we aim to safeguard and restore 60 million hectares of wetlands as integral elements of productive river and lake landscapes.
Our Goal is to catalyse investment to safeguard and restore rivers, lakes and their accompanying wetlands, as part of wider freshwater systems; and to provide water security for people and nature, climate resilience, and sustainable and peaceful landscapes.
While field innovations and partnership development are showing great promise in many regions, the establishment of and investment in mechanisms to drive upscaling are lagging behind our earlier expectations. Programmes to scale our work are in the pipeline and they will accelerate progress.
Healthy wetlands
We prepared integrated management plans for nearly 300 wetlands in sub-basins of the Ganga River in India, covering almost 1.9 million hectares, while preparations were began for possible listing as a Ramsar Site of Ottu Lake in Haryana state. In Argentina, we developed and began implementation of management plans for more than 2 million hectares of wetlands along the Paraná -Paraguay fluvial corridor, covering the world’s largest tropical wetland in the Pantanal, together with Iberá Marshes and the Paraná Delta, while the Paraná Delta Biodiversity Corridor initiative was formally adopted by the Argentina Ministry of Environment. We also completed the management plan of the Pozuelos Biosphere Reserve covering 364,000 hectares in the High Andes. In the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, we restored over 2,000 hectares of degraded watersheds, lakes and wetland areas, through our integrated landscape restoration interventions, and showcased 1,000 hectares of buffer zones protecting Lake Ziway from impacts from intensive agriculture. Further south in the Omo-Gibe sub-basin, we restored nearly 1,000 hectares of degraded high value wetlands, and started dialogues on water use and on a transboundary ecoregion vision for the area together with stakeholders across the border in Turkana Province (Kenya), where we initiated enhanced rangeland management through the re-seeding with native species benefitting 15,000 stakeholders.
Reduced climate risks
By 2030, we aim to safeguard 10 million hectares of high value river and lake wetlands, focusing on five basins.
Developing and implementing management plans in India and Argentina, coupled with upscaling potential in the Rift Valley, means we are on track in 2022.
By 2030, we aim that €500 million is committed to enable Nature-Based Solutions in freshwater wetlands, for climate mitigation and adaptation.
We secured a new 10 year partnership with the Swedish International Development Agency to upscale healthy, biodiverse, and well managed wetland landscapes globally by 2030, aiming to achieve global influence of countries, institutions and sectors, resulting in shifts in approach, policies and investments towards the regeneration of wetland landscapes.
We saw limited progress in terms of actual impact on the ground in 2022. We expect progress to be exponential over time as we build the foundations for scaling up. We continue to position ourselves and mobilise partners.
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
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