World Wetlands Day marks the start of a new era for Wetlands International – and for global efforts to protect, restore, and sustainably manage the world’s wetlands. 

Today, we are launching our ambitious Strategy for the next decade – a new approach that will drive transformative change in wetlands for the benefit of people, nature, and climate. 

Wetlands underpin our societies and economies. From rivers to reefs, lakes to lagoons, marshes to mangroves, ponds to peatlands, healthy wetlands are key to tackling the greatest challenges of our era. Yet they are still being drained, dammed, dredged, depleted and degraded at an alarming rate. This is not only an environmental crisis; it is an existential one. But all is not doom and gloom. There are solutions that can be scaled up, wetland positive policies and practices that can be rolled out and replicated. 

Wetlands for Life (2026-35) sets out how we will contribute to this transformative change, detailing the strategic approaches and ambitious goals that we believe will accelerate wetland action. 

The strategy builds on our inspiring 30-year track record as a locally led, global network organization, working hand in hand with communities, partners, companies and governments. We will continue to co-create solutions and deliver significant wetland impact at site level. By 2035, we will have directly contributed together with partners to: 

• Conserving 4 million hectares of wetlands; 
• Ensuring 1 million hectares of degraded wetlands are under restoration; 
• Ensuring 2000km of rivers are maintained or under restoration; 
• 8 million people benefit from conserved and restored wetlands through reduction in risks and hazards and/or improved standard of living; and 
• Conserving 40 key wetland species.  

While substantial, these direct impacts only represent a fraction of the global goals for wetlands. Yet, they will be critical to achieving them because they will showcase solutions that help trigger the systemic change in policies, business, and finance necessary to accelerate and scale up wetland action worldwide. 

From now on, everything we do must help trigger transformative change. Collaborating with a wide array of partners from communities to cities, companies and countries, we will work to change the policies and business and finance systems that continue to degrade wetlands. By 2035, our systemic contribution to together with partners, will be that: 

• Wetland considerations are embedded in key policy decisions relating to major global policy agreements; 
• 50 countries make tangible progress in integrating wetlands into key national and sectoral policies; 
• 50 countries have enhanced the implementation of key national and international policies in support of wetlands; 
• 100 companies with material impact on wetlands deliver measurable contributions to wetland conservation/restoration; and 
• €6 billion is mobilised in investments and funding supporting wetland conservation and restoration. 

To achieve these ambitious goals, we will focus on four key pillars – demonstrating impact through our site and landscape level interventions, leading through knowledge, creating a movement, and leveraging systemic change in policy, business and finance. 

While continuing to work across the globe on rivers, lakes, peatlands and coastal wetlands, we will deepen our existing work in 12 flagship landscapes across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. By 2035, our goal is to ensure that all these landscapes are under holistic management, including innovative finance and regenerative land-use practices – demonstrating that it is possible to create sustainable and prosperous wetland-based societies and economies by combining site level action in wetlands with collective efforts to transform government, business and investment policies and practices to drive systemic change. 

Under our new strategy, we will continue to work in a range of freshwater and other inland wetlands, including rivers, floodplains, lakes (including saline lakes), marshes and inland deltas, since they underpin societies and economies by providing water, food, fisheries and transport. They also connect ecosystems from land to sea and are hotspots of biodiversity. 

We will prioritise peatlands, since they nourish other ecosystems, store 30% of terrestrial carbon and are phenomenal sponges – and because they continue to be drained and converted, fuelling 5% of global GHG emissions, huge wildfires, and the loss of water, biodiversity and resilience. 

We will focus on coastal wetlands, especially mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass beds, since they sustain and buffer communities and cities, support farming and fisheries, and host rich biodiversity – and are being lost to urbanisation, unsustainable infrastructure, and rising seas. 

As part of this, we will continue to play a central role in three voluntary global initiatives – the Freshwater Challenge, Mangrove Breakthrough and Peatland Breakthrough – to share solutions and best practices and deliver game changing impact for wetlands worldwide.  

We will pay specific attention to migratory waterbirds and their flyways, and migratory fishes and their swimways as they are connectors, indicators of wetland health, and under increasing pressure. 

As always, in all that we do, we prioritize working with and securing benefits for Indigenous Peoples and local communities and vulnerable groups, including women and youth. 

As Wetlands International, we have always been grounded in local realities and always prided ourselves on genuine, inclusive collaboration. The development of Wetlands for Life has adhered to this. It is the result of a lengthy process of consultation with our partners, members, donors, and colleagues across the Wetlands International network, who have helped to shape it and who share the commitment to turn it into action. 

This strategy is grounded in a simple truth: if the world successfully scales up efforts to safeguard and restore wetlands, we will have made a giant leap towards stabilising our climate, restoring biodiversity, enhancing water and food security, strengthening peace and security, and building more resilient societies and economies worldwide.  

The coming decade will be decisive. We believe this strategy positions Wetlands International to lead a new era of wetland action with partners to safeguard and restore the world’s priceless wetlands.  

Together – we can rise to the challenge.