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Solutions for addressing wetland loss in the Anthropocene will need to be built on more nuanced understanding of the relationships between human society and nature, including wetlands, as well as an understanding of human context. The current framing of ecological character and wise use perpetuates a nature–human dichotomy. Social components and interactions can be brought into the ecological concepts by adopting a more inclusive and comprehensive term ‘wetland character’ and using a social–ecological systems framework framing built around system entities, interactions, and system-level emergence phenomena.

Management of these complex systems needs to be underpinned by an ethic that acknowledges the diversity of worldviews and values, recognising that wise use may be defined differently by each of these. The 50th year of Ramsar Convention provides an appropriate moment to set an …