By Sven Sielhorst

Wetlands underpin our societies and economies. But across the globe, they are disappearing and degrading, and communities and cities are suffering the consequences. Wetlands International brings decades of experience, trusted relationships, and scientific and practical knowledge to help change this. By making wetland dependencies and impacts visible in business and finance, we can help unlock private sector action for a wetland-positive economy. That is why our 2026-35 strategy prioritises private sector engagement as a key pathway to transformative change. Join us, support us, and challenge us. 

Reimagining wetlands in business 

Wetlands have long been overlooked for the water they provide, or regarded as wastelands. Governments have permitted their conversion into land that can be used for agriculture and construction. They have authorised the diversion of rivers and development of hard, concrete coastal defenses. They have also promoted the extraction of peat, and the development of hydropower dams to meet growing energy demand. 

Businesses have often lobbied for and benefited from these activities. They were the architects, the contractors, and the financiers of these works. They benefited because they were able to undertake business activities in and near wetlands, often putting extreme pressure on what was left of them through water extraction, pollution, and other impacts. 

The pursuit of profit has driven many wetlands to the edge and in many countries, governments stepped in to regulate business behaviour. This happened under pressure from civil society groups and Indigenous and local communities, who better understood the priceless long-term values of wetlands. 

A shared responsibility to reverse wetland decline 

According to the Global Wetland Outlook 2025, the world lost 22% of its remaining wetlands since 1970 and they are still being lost at an alarming rate. For communities living with floods, droughts, fires, declining fisheries, or polluted water, wetland decline is not abstract — it is already affecting their daily lives. 

Governments and businesses increasingly understand and value wetlands for what they are: life support systems that underpin societies and economies. Wetlands provide water regulation, carbon sequestration, habitats for biodiversity, and resilience for communities, cities, and businesses alike. The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 estimates that remaining wetlands provide between US$7.98 trillion and US$39.01 trillion in benefits to people every year. As this understanding grows, governments and businesses each have a distinct responsibility to turn appreciation into action. 

Governments must lead the way in nature-inclusive land use planning and the wise use of wetlands and their resources. They must regulate private sector behaviour to avoid adverse impacts on wetlands and the communities that depend on them, and instead incentivise and enable businesses to increase their positive impacts on nature. 

Businesses must reduce their negative impacts on wetlands, direct their creative power to create solutions for the problems wetlands are facing, and support other stakeholders in the landscapes where they operate to protect and restore wetlands. 

Transformative change for wetlands 

Transforming private sector strategies and practices is key to the transition we need to make as a society and to achieving the global goals for climate, nature and sustainable development. After all, the private sector provides jobs and income and helps power economic development, while also delivering essential services to society. But business-as-usual is unsustainable. We need to change course, so that the world economy is sustainable, and within planetary boundaries – safeguarding the diverse benefits of healthy wetlands and other ecosystems. This requires business strategies to be(come) sustainable with no or minimal negative impact on wetlands. Wetlands International is keen to work with key private sector to actors lead the positive change. 

We have a long track record of supporting governments around the world to protect wetlands. We have done so through mapping wetlands, monitoring their condition, and providing input to policy and legislation. We also support the testing and implementation of policies and practical solutions in wetlands, always with local communities at the heart of the process. 

But while it is necessary to engage and support government action, it is not sufficient to reverse global wetland decline. 

Wetlands International supports the recommendations of recent IPBES reports on Business and Biodiversity, and Transformational Change They call for a transformational and system-wide approach to solve the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss and the projected collapse of key ecosystem functions. They also point to deeper causes of nature decline, including our disconnection from nature, the concentration of power and wealth, and the prioritisation of short-term material gains over long-term social and ecological well-being. We agree with IPBES that addressing this takes the whole of society to act on available knowledge and insights. This includes working with the private sector to change the structures and practices that drive nature decline, and to strengthen those that contribute to a just and sustainable world. 

Working together for a wetland positive economy 

Companies are increasingly considering nature in their strategies, operations, and reporting. Yet wetlands often remain outside their scope, and many companies lack the support to turn ambition into action. That is why our 2026-35 strategy prioritises private sector engagement as a key pathway to transformative change. The strategy sets a clear ambition: by 2035, 100 companies with material impacts on wetlands should deliver measurable contributions to wetland conservation and restoration. 

This is how we can support them: by providing data, knowledge, and insights; by supporting credible efforts and innovation; by convening governments, communities, and other stakeholders; and by helping to create the enabling environment companies need to be effective. 

This means making wetlands visible in corporate decision-making, shaping public policy frameworks, and helping financial institutions reward wetland-positive outcomes and shift financial flows and investments away from activities that harm wetlands. In our 12 flagship landscapes across the globe, from Argentina to the Philippines, companies can work with communities, governments, civil society organisations, and investors to test and scale wetland solutions. 

It also means mobilising public and private finance for wetland conservation, restoration, and wise use – often through specific nature-based solutions – while convening stakeholders through initiatives like the Mangrove Breakthrough and the Freshwater Challenge. 

Open to engagement, open to challenge 

Wetlands International is now bringing its knowledge, skills, and network to private sector engagement more intentionally, building on decades of experience in supporting public sector action and collaborating with communities. Wetland well-being needs public and private action to reinforce each other. With the trust of governments, businesses, and affected communities, Wetlands International can connect the right actors and help drive change at the scale required. 

We also recognise that working with the private sector will be a bumpy road that requires our organisation to learn new skills, understand business realities better, and develop the resources required to do this type of work. We will focus our private sector efforts on businesses and sectors with the biggest impact and dependency on wetlands, such as agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, coastal infrastructure, dredging, mining, palm oil, and peat-based industries. In these sectors, we hope to contribute to wider change by helping businesses, financiers, and other stakeholders shift practices and expectations at sector level. 

Private sector engagement is a key part of the transformation we need, and transformation goes both ways. We want to work with companies that are open to learning, willing to share their experiences, and ready to look at their own impacts, dependencies, and practices as part of that journey. We will assess each company and potential collaboration against our corporate engagement policy, so that our choices remain consistent with the standards and ambitions we expect from this work. 

We also welcome governments, communities, civil society organisations, financiers, financiers, and others with a stake in this agenda to support us, partner with us, and challenge us as we shape this work together. Constructive disagreement is part of transformational change. After all, evolution favours those best able to adapt to the ever-changing environment they are part of.