Wetlands International at World Water Week 2025: Scaling Up Wetland Restoration for People and Nature
“If we fail on water, we fail on climate.” These powerful words from Retno Marsudi, UN Special Envoy on Water, set the tone at the Opening Ceremony of World Water Week (WWW) 2025.
WWW once again underscored that water connects us all—communities, countries, ecosystems, and economies. It is the foundation of life, climate action, and a just and resilient future.
A strong theme this year was the interconnectedness of water. Wetlands sit at the heart of this —storing, filtering, and regulating water, while sustaining biodiversity and livelihoods. Their health directly influences water security, climate stability, and community resilience.
This year, Wetlands International participated in WWW to share a clear message: wetlands are central to tackling the climate and water crises. We demonstrated how wetlands can advance resilience for people and nature, advocated for urgent and scaled-up restoration, and showed that an integrated landscape approach is the way forward.
At the heart of our engagement was showcasing the Wetlands4Resilience Model Approach—developed and applied through the Wetlands4Resilience programme supported by Sida. This approach demonstrates how to work across sectors, scales, and stakeholders to restore wetlands as engines of climate resilience. We shared lessons and results to inspire and mobilize broader coalitions to act together.
Our team was actively involved throughout the week:
- Co-organizing a SIWI seminar on the Water–Biodiversity–Climate Nexus.
- Hosting a joint Nature Booth with partner organizations to engage participants.
- Co-organizing the session “The Freshwater Challenge – Catalyzing Action for Climate Resilience.”
- Organizing a Live Talkshow, where we highlighted inspiring wetland restoration examples and opportunities for scaling up.
The degradation of wetlands continues globally, threatening biodiversity, water security, and climate resilience. But the path forward is clear.
We must restore what we can, protect the wetlands that are still intact, and prevent further loss. To achieve this, we need to mobilise finance for large-scale wetland landscape propositions and apply an Integrated Landscape Approach to restoration—examples from India and Indonesia show what is possible. Collaboration is key. A growing number of private-sector actors joined SWWW this year, bringing momentum for partnerships. But true engagement requires inclusion. As one panel highlighted, “Real stakeholder engagement means reaching out to those not in the room.”
Though wetlands are slowly gaining recognition (we heard many references to Ramsar, the Convention on Wetlands), freshwater ecosystems remain largely unseen and uncelebrated in global climate fora. Together with our partners in the Freshwater Challenge, we called for a High-Level Ministerial on wetlands at COP30—a crucial step toward embedding water and wetlands more firmly in the global climate agenda.
Wetlands International leaves WWW 2025 with renewed commitment to support and mobilize action. Through the Wetlands4Resilience Model Approach, we will continue to engage partners and communities in wetland landscapes such as jeta-Pecixe-Cacheu (Guinea-Bissau) and Ziway–Shalla (Ethiopia). By sharing lessons learned and results achieved, we aim to inspire and enable the global scaling up of wetland restoration—advancing resilience for people and nature.
Wetlands are essential. The time to act is now. Let’s restore them, together.