Why wetlands are a versatile climate and biodiversity hack

The author contends that wetlands are undervalued natural solutions for climate and biodiversity crises, noting they disappear faster than forests and store significant carbon. The text proposes specific quantified targets for 2030, including the restoration of 20% of degraded wetlands and the protection of 30% of surviving ones, to prevent disasters like floods and wildfires.

• Wetlands are disappearing more rapidly than any other major ecosystem, with over one-third of global wetlands lost since 1970 and some estimates suggesting a total loss of more than 80% of former wetlands.
• Wetlands provide critical carbon sequestration and biodiversity services; coastal mangroves store four times more carbon per hectare than rainforests, and wetlands overall support 40% of the planet's species on only 7% of the land.
• The degradation of wetlands increases vulnerability to climate disasters: peatland drainage contributes to over 5% of global carbon emissions, and the removal of moorland 'sponges' contributed to the severity of the July 2021 floods in north-west Germany.
• The author proposes specific quantified targets to guide policy-makers, including placing at least 30% of surviving wetlands under formal conservation management and restoring at least 20% of degraded wetlands by 2030.
• Proposed restoration targets for 2030 include a 20% increase in mangrove cover, the restoration of at least 10 million hectares of peatland, and a 10% increase in tidal flats through the removal of sea walls.

APA

Madgwick, J. (2022). Why wetlands are a versatile climate and biodiversity hack. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/wetlands-climate-change/

Chicago

Madgwick, Jane. Why wetlands are a versatile climate and biodiversity hack. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/wetlands-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Madgwick |first1=Jane |title=Why wetlands are a versatile climate and biodiversity hack |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=24 March 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/wetlands-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{madgwick2022why, author = {Madgwick, Jane}, title = {{Why wetlands are a versatile climate and biodiversity hack}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/wetlands-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }