TEHRAN – Wetlands are among the ecosystems with the highest rates of decline, loss, and degradation; they are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem.

In just 50 years — since 1970 — 35 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been lost. Human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species, and climate change.

Wetlands are ecosystems in which water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. A broad definition of wetlands includes both freshwater and marine and coastal ecosystems, such as all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fishponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and saltpans.

These lands are critical to people and nature, given the intrinsic value of these ecosystems, and their benefits and services, including their environmental, climate, ecological, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational, and aesthetic contributions to sustainable development and human wellbeing.

Although they cover only around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism, and for jobs.

Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems, and for our climate, providing essential ecosystem services, such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification. More than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods – that’s about one in eight people on Earth.

World Wetlands Day is annually celebrated on February 2nd.  World Wetlands Day 2026, under the theme “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage,” explores the deep-rooted connections between wetlands and cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge systems of communities across the world.

 Human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species, and climate change.

Indicators of current negative trends in global biodiversity and ecosystem functions are projected to continue in response to direct and indirect drivers, such as rapid human population growth, unsustainable production and consumption, and associated technological development, as well as the adverse impacts of climate change.

This vicious cycle of wetland loss, threatened livelihoods, and deepening poverty is the result of mistakenly seeing wetlands as wastelands rather than life-giving sources of jobs, incomes, and essential ecosystem services. A key challenge is to change mindsets to encourage governments and communities to value and prioritize wetlands.

Wetlands conservation projects

Iran’s geography is distinct, teeming with diverse landscapes. In Iran, 141 wetlands with ecological value, with an area of over 3 million hectares, have been identified, 27 of which were listed in the International Ramsar Convention.

The Department of Environment (DOE) has announced the beginning of a new phase of the wetlands conservation project (2025 –2028) to strengthen sustainable livelihoods and alleviate pressure on the wetlands ecosystem.

Backed by successful experiences in Lake Urmia, the basins in Gilan, Fars, Parishan, and those in East and West Azerbaijan provinces, the project has provided the basis for promoting wetland protection and improving sustainable resource utilization, IRIB quoted Fereshteh Jadori, an official with DOE, as saying on November 25.

The pilot implementation of the project in Shadegan and Behbahan in the previous phase yielded significant results, and these achievements led the project to enter a new phase with the support of international institutions and domestic agencies, she added.

The official went on to highlight the role of technical and vocational education and training in empowering local people to protect wetlands and improve their income.

The most recent strategies taken for the conservation of the wetlands are as follows. In June 2025, the DOE and the Ministry of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to launch a national plan for empowering local communities to protect and promote the sustainable use of wetlands.

In February 2025, the DOE and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) extended their partnership by signing a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conserve Iranian wetlands projects in the country.

The MOU was signed by the head of DOE, Shina Ansari, and Resident Representative ad interim for UNDP in Iran, Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé, in a meeting in Bushehr province, ISNA reported.

MT/MG