World Wetlands Day 2026

Wetlands underpin our societies and economies. From rivers to reefs, lakes to lagoons, marshes to mangroves, ponds to peatlands, healthy wetlands are key to tackling the greatest challenges of our era.

Yet wetlands are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem; they are disappearing three times faster than forests.

Wetlands are being drained, dammed, dredged, depleted and degraded at an alarming rate. This is not just an environmental crisis – it is an existential one.

But there are solutions that can be scaled up, and wetland-positive policies and practices that can be rolled out and replicated.

Wetlands, not wastelands

Climate change, rapid human population growth, unsustainable consumption (and the technological development that comes with it) are all contributing to the decline, loss and degradation of global wetlands. In fact, 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970.

Human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species and climate change.

This vicious cycle of wetland loss, threatened livelihoods and deepening poverty is the result of mistakenly seeing wetlands as wastelands rather than life-giving sources of jobs, incomes and essential ecosystem services.

A key challenge is to change mindsets and encourage governments and communities to value and prioritise wetlands.

Why wetlands matter

Wetlands are much more than just ‘wet areas’; they cover only around 6% of the Earth’s land surface, yet 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed in these habitats.

Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism and for jobs. Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems and for our climate, providing essential services such as water regulation, which includes flood control and water purification.

More than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods – that’s about one in eight people on Earth.

Despite being the most effective carbon reservoirs on Earth – they protect us from floods and cool our overheated cities – wetlands are under serious threat.

In order to stop the loss of wetlands, a rethink is needed in politics and society. Investments in nature-based solutions must be taken into account in planning. With the appropriate political will, the foundations can be laid for the necessary conversion to so-called sponge cities – away from the rapid discharge of water and towards intelligent water management.