Warming world ‘drying wetlands’
More than 700 scientists are attending a major conference to draw up an action plan to protect the world’s wetlands.
Organisers say a better understanding of how to manage the vital ecosystems is urgently needed.
Rising temperatures are not only accelerating evaporation rates, but also reducing rainfall levels and the volume of meltwater from glaciers.
Although only covering 6% of the Earth’s land surface, they store up to an estimated 20% of terrestrial carbon.
Co-organised by the UN University and Brazil’s Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, the five-day Intecol International Wetlands Conference in Cuiaba, Brazil, will examine the links between wetlands and climate change.
“Humanity in many parts of the world needs a wake-up call to fully appreciate the vital environmental, social and economic services wetlands provide,” said conference co-chairman Paulo Teixeira.
These included absorbing and holding carbon, regulating water levels and supporting biodiversity, he added.
Konrad Osterwalder, rector of the UN University, said that people in the past had viewed the habitats as a problem, which led to many being drained.
“Yet wetlands are essential to the planet’s health,” he explained. “With hindsight, the problems in reality have turned out to be the draining of wetlands and other ’solutions’ we humans devised.”
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