A new report shows that area changes and increasingly climate change are destroying the world's wetlands at an alarming rate.
Wetlands store more than 30 percent of all soil carbon from land. They are important for health, food and water safety. Therefore, it is very important that we care for the wetlands we leave behind and restore those that can be restored, says Ellen Hambro, director of the Norwegian Environment Agency.
. Ramsar Convention
The international agreement (Ramsar Convention) on wetlands has launched a new special report on the situation of other wetlands in the world, Global Wetland Outlook: Special Edition 2021.
The report is prepared by a group of international experts commissioned by the Ramsar Convention. The content is based, among others, on the latest reports of the Climate Panel (IPCC) and the Nature Panel (IPBES). Also various studies of economic and social conditions. Norwegian Environment Agency is the Norwegian administrative body of the Ramsar Convention.
The report shows that we continue to destroy or degrade wetlands at an alarming rate. Worldwide, 35 percent of wetlands have been lost since the 1970s. Wetlands are our most endangered ecosystem and are disappearing three times faster than forests.
Wetlands are our most efficient terrestrial ecosystem for carbon capture. Peat bogs, which include most of Norway's peat bogs, cover only 3% of the earth's surface. They still store 30% of all land-based soil carbon, according to the report.
Also a challenge in Norway
In Norway, too, there has been a decline in both the surface area and the ecological status of wetlands. It is the buildings and the creation of an industrial area that lead to the greatest reduction in wetlands and their deterioration.
Other factors influencing today are fragmentation, river straightening, dams, eutrophication, peat harvesting, reduced maintenance and the conversion of wetlands to agricultural land.
– The most important thing we can do do for wetlands in Norway, is to slow down the rate of degradation. We must simultaneously protect and restore wetlands wherever possible. To achieve this, we depend on resources that transcend sector boundaries and management levels, says Hambro.
An important platform for Norwegian work is nature strategy for wetlands, which was presented by the Ministry of Climate and Environment in June 2021.
Norway will rebuild more peatlands in 2022.
- In 2021, we completed the reclamation of 19 peat bogs and closed almost 50 thousand. meters of ditches. In 2022, we will still feel a lot of pressure to do even more bog restoration, says Hambro.
Another important contribution of the Norwegian Environment Agency to reducing the negative impacts on wetlands is work on assessing their conservation as part of work for the conservation of valuable nature. Work has started on the assessment of the areas to be protected in Oslo and Viken, Rogaland and Trøndelag. The areas considered include the expansion of the Sklinna nature reserve in the Leka commune. Sklinna is a Ramsar area with great natural beauty and important ecological functional areas.
Ramsar facts
The international "Ramsar Convention on Wetlands" is the only international agreement that focuses on one nature only - wetlands. The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971. The convention involves 172 partner countries working together for the conservation and wise use of all wetlands. for the creation of Ramsar areas and international cooperation. Norway was one of the first countries to ratify the convention.
The Parties to the Convention undertake to maintain the ecological character of 2435 wetlands of international importance. Norway has nominated 63 of these areas. Collectively, Ramsar covers nearly 2,5 million square kilometers and represents around 13% of the world's remaining wetlands.
Source: Norwegian Environment Agency
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