4 Wetland Futures Report 2013: The Value of Healthy Wetlands
Introduction
Wetlands are beautiful and inspiring places, important for
wildlife and people. They can store floodwaters, control
erosion, provide us with clean water, influence the climate,
and provide food, medicines, and building materials, all
of which can be assigned some kind of value. It is much
more difficult to assign a value to the rich diversity of
wildlife dependent on them. Wetlands are also important
to human health providing a resource for recreation and
tourism, physical and mental health benefits.
Wetlands are under threat from pollution, invasive species,
the influence of climate change and our ever-increasing
demand for water and land.
Wetland Futures focuses on the conservation of wetlands
in their broadest sense, from ephemeral ponds and wet
meadows to lakes, rivers and estuaries, constructed and
natural, in urban and rural landscapes. We want to put in
place practical ideas that will help deliver healthy wetlands
for people and wildlife into the long term.
Wetland Futures 2013 was held from the 1st-2nd
October 2013 in York and aimed to develop a shared
understanding of the contribution healthy wetlands can
make to the social and economic well being of people
and wildlife. The two day event offered progressive
insights into what drives and constrains the creation
and management of healthy wetlands for a wide range
of stakeholders. It brought people together, forged new
relationships and developed new ideas.
Wetland Futures 2013 aims were:
•
Explore how wetlands add value to economy and
society through a range of beneficial goods and services;
examine data and tools currently available to identify,
assess and realise their potential benefits.
•
Draw together evidence of success and good
practice in wetland management, focussing on factors
that can promote wetland potential
•
Identify what actions are needed to help us realise
wider value from wetlands, including further development
of tools, collaborations, funding initiatives, development,
planning and policy integration.
This document summarises the presentations given at the
conference, provides some key challenges from the event,
and describes next steps for Wetland Futures.
Delegates at the Wetland Futures Conference
photo: Hannah Freeman
