World Wetlands Day was celebrated this week with the theme ‘Call to Act’ for Wetlands. It's an appeal to invest financial, human, and political capital to save the world’s wetlands from disappearing and to restore those we have degraded. It highlights the need to raise national and global awareness about wetlands to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them.
The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 75/317 (Aug 2021) that established February 2nd as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness about wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971.
Nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and wetlands are being lost three times faster than forests. Yet, wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies and more. Wetlands are also among the ecosystems with the highest rates of decline, loss, and degradation.
To protect against further loss, the nation has in recent years adopted a policy of "no net loss" of wetlands. USACE, working in partnership with many other organizations, is helping to implement this policy by protecting, preserving, and restoring. Over time they expect these efforts to not only reverse wetland losses but also yield gains in total wetland acreage. Through the regulatory program USACE works to ensure that these projects can go forward, without causing net loss of wetlands.
Find out more about IWR's support at the Value to the Nation website.
For more information on World Wetlands Day: https://www.worldwetlandsday.org.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR) was formed to provide forward-looking analysis and research in developing planning methodologies to aid the Civil Works program. IWR is a field operating activity under the supervision of the Director for Civil Works, USACE.