"It is urgent to restore wetlands!"

Posted on 6 February 2023

Wetlands are gradually disappearing over the years, threatening the extinction of 25% of the species living in this ecosystem.

By definition, a wetland is a land area that is saturated with water or flooded, either permanently or seasonally. There are three types of wetlands: inland wetlands, coastal wetlands and artificial wetlands. They provide a quality living environment for humans and other species to thrive in a healthy world.

Wetlands are essential to man and nature. They provide many services to the people and the different species that live there, namely: water and food supply, air purification, biodiversity conservation, etc.
For example, mangroves are wetlands rich in shrimp with an annual productivity of up to 532 kg per hectare. Shrimp fishing also supports the communities around these wetlands.

Wetlands also play a valuable role in disaster management. They reduce the force of waves during cyclones and also protect us from floods, as a 4000 m² wetland can absorb up to 6 million liters of flood water.

Unfortunately, this ecosystem is now threatened. About 35% of the world's wetlands have disappeared in the last 50 years. In fact, they are disappearing three times faster than terrestrial forests. Human activities are the main cause, notably urbanization, filling, construction of infrastructures on former wetlands, overfishing, without forgetting the discharge of waste in the wetlands leading to their insalubrity.

Let's all act together to reverse this trend and revitalize degraded wetlands. Our goal for 2023 is to restore those that have been destroyed over the past 50 years during the celebration of World Wetlands Day on February 2.