WETLANDS OCCUPY ONLY 4% OF ALL LAND, BUT ARE DISAPPEARING AT RATES THREE TIMES FASTER THAN FORESTS, WITH UP TO 25% OF ALL WETLAND PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES AT RISK OF EXTINCTION.
Protecting wetlands can prevent the loss of biodiverse habitats, endangered species, and our best natural flooding and erosion control, while keeping our most carbon-rich soils intact.
map sources: Inland Wetlands: Fluet-Chouinard et al 2015. "Development of a global inundation map..." Remote Sensing of Environment. | Rivers: Camille Ouellet Dallaire et al 2019." A multidisciplinary framework to derive global river reach classifications..." | Coastal Wetlands: Giri, C.et al 2008. "World Map of Mangrove Distribution." ; "Global Distribution of Blue Carbon Ecosystems." Blue Carbon Initiative. Conservation International. UNESCO. IUCN
PEATLANDS COVER 3% OF EARTH'S LAND AREA, AND CUMULATIVELY STORE MORE CARBON THAN ALL OF THE FORESTS ON EARTH.
ONLY 2% OF PEATLANDS ARE CURRENTLY PROTECTED.
Sources: Blue Carbon Initiative | Global Database of Protected Areas
COASTAL WETLANDS MAKE UP ONLY 0.3% OF EARTH'S LAND, BUT STORE THREE TO FIVE TIMES AS MUCH CARBON PER UNIT AREA THAN TROPICAL FORESTS.
ONLY 26% OF COASTAL WETLANDS ARE CURRENTLY PROTECTED.
THE ENCROACHING SEAWATER THREATENS TO FLOOD HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR BY 2100.
“If governments fail to take any action, the annual cost of damage stands to reach hundreds of billions of dollars, at best, and as high as $100 Trillion...”
“Sea Walls May Be Cheaper that Rising Waters” Evan Lehman, Scientific American; Image: a devastated village near the coast of Sumatra after a tsunami in 2005, Philip A. McDaniel, U.S. Navy, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
project coastal inundation with 6m sea level rise
If we protect the land vulnerable to the next two meters of sea level rise, we could protect habitat and species, create a buffer zone against tidal surges, and have a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
Source: World WildLife Fund “Threats to Wetlands” | Map based on 6m sea level rise by NASA
WHAT IF WETLAND CONSERVATION COULD PROTECT OUR COASTAL CITIES AS WELL AS COASTAL HABITATS?
By restoring and protecting coastal wetlands, we could create a buffer zone against tidal surges and rising seas, protect habitat and species, and significantly offset carbon emissions.
