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Global Wetlands Decline Puts $39 Trillion of Services at Risk

Nations must mobilize up to $550 billion annually to restore wetlands before their leaders convene in Zimbabwe

A drone view shows turf from Derryrush bog left out to dry after being harvested from the blanket bog, in Derryrush, Ireland, April 22, 2024. Ireland's bogs were formed over thousands of years as decaying plants formed a thick layer of peat in wetland areas. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
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Overview

  • The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 finds 22% of wetlands lost since 1970 and a quarter of the remainder now degraded.
  • The Convention on Wetlands warns that continuing declines could forfeit as much as $39 trillion in ecosystem services by 2050.
  • Loss drivers include land-use change, pollution, agricultural expansion, invasive species and climate impacts such as sea-level rise and drought.
  • Restoration projects in Zambia, Cambodia and China show early progress in rehabilitating critical freshwater and coastal systems.
  • Delegates from 172 member states will meet at Victoria Falls for Ramsar Convention COP15 to set conservation priorities and funding commitments.