Wetlands are key to people and biodiversity, but people's livelihoods and biodiversity need to be taken equally into account to be truly sustainable. That is why development and conservation policies need to become more integrated and development organisations and conservation organisations should collaborate.

To achieve this goal Wetlands International initiated the Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project. Through this project we intervene to improve policies at all levels and we unite 80 partners worldwide from all types of sectors.

The main themes the project focuses on are livelihoods, climate change and water management.

Within the livelihoods theme the project aims to show the importance of healthy wetlands to the livelihoods of many people. One way in which we do this is by showing how wetland tourism can lead to sustainable sources of income.

As for climate change our main concern is the enormous amounts of carbon dioxide that are being emitted due to the conversion of Southeast Asian peatlands into palm oil plantations, mainly due to the rising demand for biofuels.

With regards to water management the project primarily focuses on the effects of dams on wetlands areas and the people who live there.

See the menu on the left for more detailed information on these topics.