Negotiators have divided the world between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, largely forgetting the crucial interfaces between land and sea .
Jane Madgwick, CEO, Wetlands International speaking at COP15 in Montreal, Canada
Since the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed at the Earth Summit thirty years ago, wetlands have often been sidelined in its agreements. Negotiators have divided the world between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, largely forgetting the crucial fluvial interfaces between land and sea, and the flowing waters that lubricate almost every other ecosystem, while being home to an estimated 40 percent of the world’s biodiversity. Largely as a result, wetlands have been disappearing faster than other biomes, with freshwater species becoming extinct twice as rapidly as terrestrial and marine species. But hopefully no longer. Global Biodiversity Framework The Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by 196 parties to the Convention meeting in Montreal in December 2022, is the most important global ecological agreement for a decade. It commits nations to “halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, including by protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030. It specifically targeted wetlands – ‘inland waters’ and ‘coastal ecosystems’ in the language of the Convention, and for the first time agreed targets for their restoration. Its Target 2 commits the world to ensuring that “by 2030, at least 30 percent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration.” And Target 3, on conservation, promises that “by 2030, at least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine areas… are effectively conserved and managed.”
The breakthrough comes after many years of lobbying by a group of wetlands-focused conservation groups, including Wetlands International, which was present at the culmination of negotiations in Montreal. The agreement is also notable for its explicit recognition of the importance of Indigenous and traditional ownership and stewardship of wetlands to meeting the targets. This is crucial. Wetlands International has long argued that buy-in from local communities that use and manage wetlands is essential to successful and equitable conservation. Not everything we hoped for is included in the new agreement. We pushed for the restoration target to be expressed in absolute numbers rather than percentages, and for conservation and restoration of rivers to be singled out with a target based on the length of rivers. Ramsar Convention Rivers link up wetlands and should be seen as wetlands in their own right, as they are by the Ramsar Convention. Their fragmentation – through dams and as their floodplains are drained – is a major threat to the planet’s biodiversity. A specific target for them would have underlined the importance of connectivity in maintaining the health of wetland ecosystems. Still, with partners we calculated that the agreement’s 30-per- cent restoration target should, if properly implemented, bring back to full ecological health at least 350 million hectares of inland water ecosystems, and 300,000 kilometres of rivers.
Close up of a young Jaguar standing in shallow water in Pantanal Wetlands, Brazil
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
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