View article

Wetlands provide important and diverse benefits to people around the world, contributing provisioning, regulating, habitat, and cultural services. Critical regulating services include water-quality improvement, flood abatement and carbon management, while key habitat services are provided by wetland biodiversity. However, about half of global wetland areas have been lost, and the condition of remaining wetlands is declining. In New Zealand more than 90% of wetland area has been removed in the last 150 years, a loss rate among the highest in the world. New Zealand Maori greatly valued wetlands for their spiritual and cultural significance and as important sources of food and other materials closely linked to their identity. The remaining wetlands in New Zealand are under pressure from drainage, nutrient enrichment, invasive plants and animals, and encroachment from urban and agricultural development. In many countries, the degradation of wetlands and associated impairment of ecosystem services can lead to significant loss of human well-being and biodiversity, and negative long-term impacts on economies, communities, and business. Protection and restoration of wetlands are essential for future sustainability of the planet, providing safety nets for emerging issues such as global climate change, food production for an increasing world population, disturbance regulation, clean water, and the overall well-being of society.