Tana Delta, Kenya - Competition for Land and Water

The Tana Delta is the largest and wetland ecosystem in Kenya and is found on the Kenyan Coast (East). The Tana river is the largest and longest river in Kenya ( nearly 1,014 km long ). The Delta is about 130,000ha and suppors 100,000 people, consisting mostly of farmers, pastoralist & fishermen. However, the river volume has fallen by 20% in 10 years.

Management impact of scarce water resources of the Upper Niger on the IND

This presentation on the Inner Niger Delta discusses the hydrology, water grab by existing and future dams, socio-economic and ecological impacts of water grab downstream, as well as long term solutions.

The Water Crisis in the Inner Niger Delta (Mali)

This presentation decribes the water crisis in the Inner Niger Delta of Mali, one of the continent's largest wetlands, and the relation to dam building upstream and climate change. It is made by Bakary Kone from the Wetlands International Mali Office for our press conference on the Future of the Niger River at the World Water Forum 6 in Marseille, France.

Water sharing in the Upper Niger Basin

The scope of this study encompasses the Upper Niger Basin in Mali, focussing on the downstream Inner Niger Delta up to Tombouctou. It focuses on the core bottlenecks and options with regard to IWRM and green development in the basin and steps which have been set – in terms of knowledge development, stakeholder engagement, implementation (emerging practices) - towards a more integrated approach.

Working together on disasters, climate, ecosystems

During the coming 5 years, Wetlands International will work closely with Red Cross, Cordaid, Red Cross Climate Centre and CARE to implement a range of projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa to increase people's resilience against (climate related) disasters via ecosystem restoration and management. Together they have formed the “Partners for Resilience” (PfR).

Conservación de los peces de la Cuenca del Plata en Argentina

La necesidad de contar con herramientas apropiadas para la evaluación  del estado de conservación de las especies es cada vez más urgente. Esta publicación intenta analizar algunos aspectos clave para la evaluación de peces de importancia comercial de la Cuenca del Plata en Argentina.

Will the Inner Niger Delta shrivel up due to climate change and water use upstream?

When the climate will change in the Sahel, this will have an impact on the flooding of the Inner Niger Delta and, therefore, also on its ecological and economic functions. This report evaluates the human-driven changes in the hydrology of the Upper Niger and the possible additional impact of a climate change. The data sets used by Zwarts et al. (2005) are re-analysed and updated (as far as possible) for recent years: annual rainfall in the Upper Niger Basin, annual river discharge of Bani and Niger upstream of the Inner Niger Delta, water use (dams and irrigation schemes upstream of the Inner Niger Delta), and maximal annual flood extent of the Inner Niger Delta. 

Biodiversity loss and the global water crisis - A fact book

Globally we are facing a water crisis. This booklet aims to highlight the links between this water crisis and biodiversity loss. Both are the result of the same root causes and both problems reinforce each other. The booklet draws on the knowledge and understanding developed by Wetlands International and its partners over many years and is supplemented with key information from other, peer reviewed studies. 

Vegetation of the river Yamuna floodplain in the Delhi stretch, with reference to hydrological characteristics

The present study highlighted the importance of allocation of water for periodic inundation to maintain floodplain characteristics including aquatic/semi-aquatic vegetation cover as critical to the management of the river ecosystem. The current policy of water use focused entirely on human uses ignoring ecological requirements, and had clear adverse implications on the health of the river ecosystem.

Joint NGO - Position paper on CBD COP regarding Inland Waters

Ahead of the upcoming tenth Conference of Parties (CoP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Wetlands International, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy  and WWF urge parties to strengthen work on the protection and sustainable use of inland water ecosystems, in particular with the following joint recommendations on the CBD Inland Waters Progamme of Work. 

Recommendations for CBD post-2010 strategic targets

Wetlands International gives two recommendations for the CBD post-2010 strategic targets.

A. New, stand alone target on water

B. Proposed revision of draft CBD target 14 

Policy brief for the Convention on Biological Diversity 2010

The meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010 (COP 10) has put the biodiversity target for 2020 on the agenda. These targets in fact set the agenda regarding biodiversity policies for the coming years. Wetlands International international has used this document to advocate for improved  targets; focusing on the role of healthy ecosystems for water supplies and carbon storage.

Towards a further extension of the OPIDIN tool

OPIDIN is a predictive model to forecast the flooding of the Inner Niger Delta when the water starts to raise. OPIDIN is an acronym for Outil de Prediction des Inondations dans le Delta Intérieur du Niger. A first version of OPIDIN was developed in 2009 within a study carried out by Royal Haskoning (lead), Altenburg & Wymenga Ecological Consultants and Wetland International. This study was financed by “Partners for Water”, a joint initiative of six departments of the Government of the Netherlands. Wetlands International (Séveré) took the initiative to explore the possibilities to extend the model and asked A&W to investigate how OPIDIN may be extended and improved.

Dead planet, living planet

This UNEP publication features many case examples of the work of Wetlands International. Editor Ritesh Kumar collected showcases from Wetlands International from all around the world; from the mangroves of West Africa to the peatlands in Southeast Asia. “Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development” is a contribution to the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity and is a complement to the UNEP-hosted Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) which is bringing visibility to the wealth of the world’s natural capital.

Input for the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Input from Wetlands International on the draft targets for 2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity.