When we talk about living in harmony with nature, few ecosystems illustrate that balance more clearly or urgently than wetlands. This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated under the theme “Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development,” and is a reminder that safeguarding and restoring wetlands is essential to securing a resilient and biodiverse future for all life forms. 

These inland water ecosystems support an extraordinary range of life, from amphibians and migratory birds to fish, to aquatic plants and invertebrates. They provide the foundation for sustainable development by offering clean water, food, flood protection, climate regulation, and support for over a billion livelihoods. 

Wetlands are haven for various life forms

Wetlands—including rivers, lakes, marshes, mangroves, peatlands, deltas, and floodplains—are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They store and filter freshwater, regulate the climate, protect coastlines, and sustain over a billion livelihoods through agriculture and fisheries. Despite covering just about 6% of the Earth’s surface, wetlands are home to approximately 40% of the world’s plant and animal species, making them critical habitats and shelters of biodiversity.

However, according to the Global Wetland Outlook, we are losing wetland ecosystems three times faster than forests. Since 1970, we have lost 35% of the world’s wetlands, primarily due to land-use changes such as agriculture and urban development. This loss has led to significant declines in freshwater species populations. For instance, freshwater species populations have dropped by an average of 85%, the steepest decline of any biome. Similarly, amphibians, migratory birds, pollinators, and aquatic plants are experiencing noticeable declines, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts.

The loss of wetland ecosystems directly impacts the well-being of humans alongside all life forms. When wetlands disappear, so does our access to clean water, coastal resilience, climate stability, and livelihoods.

However, there’s hope.

Wetlands now have a clear place in the Global Biodiversity Agenda

In December 2022, countries came together at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 to adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) — a historic agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. At its heart is a recognition: biodiversity is not separate from human survival — it underpins it. 

And for the first time, wetlands and other inland water ecosystems were explicitly recognised and included across the framework’s targets.

The framework includes specific targets that place inland water ecosystems, such as lakes, rivers, marshes, mangroves, and peatlands, at the core of global conservation efforts. This is a critical shift that finally recognises that we cannot meet global biodiversity goals without addressing the health and protection of wetlands.

Targets within the KM-GBF that directly address wetland ecosystems include:

• Target 2: Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems, including wetlands, by 2030.
  
• Target 3: Ensure that 30% of inland water areas are effectively conserved through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.
  
• Target 8: Minimise the impact of climate change, pollution, and invasive species — all major pressures on freshwater and wetland systems.
  
• Target 11: Maintain and enhance the integrity, connectivity, and resilience of inland water ecosystems.

By safeguarding our existing inland water ecosystems and restoring the degraded ones, we can create cascading benefits such as improved water quality, better-secured food systems, an increase in climate resilience, and sustaining the populations of various plant and animal species that depend on wetlands.

The full list of KM-GBF targets and guidance notes provided by the Convention on Biological Diversity can be referred to, here.

Our Common Future Begins at the Water’s Edge 

The delicate balance between people and nature is most visible along inland water ecosystems. To meet the goals under the Global Biodiversity Framework, we must make wetlands a priority. The effective conservation and restoration of wetlands can significantly help reduce disaster risks, increase water resilience, enhance food security, and build resilience for the communities dependent on wetlands.

As we look ahead to Ramsar COP15, and mark the International Day for Biological Diversity, it is important to look at human well-being and development not as separate from nature but as deeply connected to it.