Global destruction of wet areas, which support fishing, agriculture and flood control, can mean loss of $ 39 trillion in economic benefits by 2050, according to a report of the convention on international humid zones on Tuesday (15).
About 22% of wetlands, both freshwater systems, rivers and lakes, and coastal marine systems, such as mangroves and coral reefs, have disappeared since 1970, according to the intergovernmental report, the fastest rhythm of loss of any ecosystem.
Pressures, including changes in land use, pollution, agricultural expansion, invasive species and the impacts of climate change, such as increased sea level and drought, are causing the decline.
“The scale of loss and degradation is beyond what we can afford to ignore,” said Hugh Robertson, the main author of the report.
The report requested annual investments of US $ 275 billion to US $ 550 billion to reverse threats to remaining wet areas and said that current spending is a “substantial subjunctioning” without providing numbers.
The world has lost 411 million hectares of wet areas, the equivalent of half a billion soccer fields, and a quarter of the remaining wet areas is now classified as in a state of degradation, according to the report.
Economic benefits of wet areas include flooding, water purification and carbon storage – fundamental as water levels rise and tropical storms and hurricanes intensify due to climate change.
They also support fishing and agriculture sectors and offer cultural benefits.
The report was launched a week before the meeting of the convention on wet zones in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, a global agreement of 172 countries signed in 1971 to lead the preservation of the ecosystem.
The group, which includes China, Russia and the United States, meets every three years, but it is unclear whether all nations will send delegates.
The deterioration of wet areas is particularly severe in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, but is getting worse in Europe and North America, according to the report.
Rehabilitation projects are underway in countries such as Zambia, Cambodia and China.
