As the world looks toward COP30 in Brazil, the urgency for transformative, nature-based climate action is clear. Amid intensifying floods, droughts, and heatwaves, healthy wetlands stand out as one of our most effective yet undervalued allies for tackling the climate crisis. From mangroves to peatlands, rivers to lakes, these ecosystems are central to achieving global goals for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. 

Wetlands for Mitigation 

Wetlands are some of the most efficient natural carbon stores, making them vital for our efforts to mitigate.

• Peatlands, despite only covering around 3-4% of the planet’s land surface, contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon, twice the amount of carbon as in the world’s forests.  

• Coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems — including mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes — sequester carbon below ground, locking it away for centuries. In fact, mangroves store up to 5 times more carbon per area than tropical forests and absorb it from the atmosphere about 3 times as quickly, too.

• Lakes, rivers, and their floodplains are also significant carbon stores. In fact, research shows that Amazonian water bodies capture 39% more carbon per unit area than the rainforest itself. 

Wetlands for Adaptation 

Around the world, wetlands protect communities from the worsening impacts of climate change, like the increasing frequency and intensity of floods and droughts.  

• Mangroves absorb and dissipate wave energy, sheltering communities and cities from storm surges as well as buffering them from sea level rise.

• Peatlands, floodplains and other wetlands act like sponges, absorbing excess rainfall and releasing it slowly during periods of drought.  

Wetlands for Resilience 

Wetlands are the foundation of resilient societies and have been for millennia. The world’s first great civilisations arose in the fertile floodplains of rivers: the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in southern Asia, the Tigris and the Euphrates in the Middle East, and the Huang in China. Still today, many of the world’s biggest cities are found along the banks of rivers – from London to Kolkata and Chicago. Wetlands provide clean water, fertile soils, and support 40% of all plant and animal species. In fact, the annual estimated value of water and freshwater ecosystems is US$58 trillion – equivalent to 60% of global GDP. Their health directly reflects ours. 

Yet we’ve lost over 20% of the world’s remaining wetlands since 1970. Around 25% of the remaining wetlands are in poor ecological condition, and this proportion is increasing in all regions. Agriculture, pollution, infrastructure development, and climate change are some of the leading drivers of their decline.  

COP30: Scaling Up Action for Wetlands 

With COP30 hosted in a region that holds some of the planet’s largest wetlands — including the Amazon river and its floodplains and flooded forests, and the Pantanal — the world has an unparalleled opportunity to put wetlands at the heart of climate policy.  

To build resilience, we must shift our perspective: wetlands are not marginal lands to be drained or developed, but essential natural infrastructure that supports sustainable economies and stable climates. 

Wetlands International calls for coordinated global action to integrate wetlands across Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs); and to mobilise finance for large-scale wetland restoration and conservation. Initiatives like the Mangrove Breakthrough, the Freshwater Challenge, and the soon-to-be-launched Peatland Breakthrough are important pathways for countries and organisations to enable action for wetlands.  

We urge governments to recognise wetlands for what they truly are: climate champions. Protecting them is not optional. It is essential.