The Ramsar Convention's resources on Wetland Restoration

The STRP Expert Working Group on Wetland Restoration

Why Restore Wetlands?

(Policy Incentives for Wetland Restoration)

In some areas, such as California in the United States and Java in Indonesia, more than ninety percent of the historic area of wetlands has been lost (Dahl, 1990; Crisman and Streever, 1996). Although estimates are influenced by many factors, most estimates suggest that about 50 percent of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the past few hundred years. Recognition of these losses, along with recognition of the economic and ecological value of wetlands and a general increase in environmental awareness, has inspired interest in wetland restoration. This interest is reflected in community action, incentive measures, and laws that require restoration under some circumstances.

Community action is often catalyzed by the efforts of nonprofit organizations, including relatively small organizations that operate locally or within a single country, such as the Yadfon ("Raindrop") Association in Thailand, and larger organizations that operate internationally, such as the Mangrove Action Plan and Wetlands International (Quarto, 1999). In some cases, community action manifests itself in the efforts of individuals undertaking restoration on their own property. For example, Kym Denver and his family have made extensive efforts to restore wetlands on their 1,200-ha farm near the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia (Denver, 1999).

In some nations, government-backed incentive plans provide the impetus for restoration. These incentive plans usually involve direct payments or tax relief for landowners participating in restoration programs. For example, in southwest England the Environment Agency has paid about , 450 per ha per year to landowners for participation in the Levels and Moors Strategy, which seeks to restore and maintain wetland habitat (Jenkins and Sturdy, 1999). Similarly, the Wetland Reserve Program in the United States pays farmers to restore wetlands on marginal croplands (Gaddis and Cubbage, 1998). For government projects, policies and funding packages provide incentives for restoration. Examples include the Commonwealth Wetlands Policy in Australia, which encourages government agencies to consider restoration opportunities, and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act in the United States, which provides millions of dollars for restoration of wetlands. At the international level, Resolution VII.17 of the Ramsar Convention encourages signatory nations to incorporate wetland restoration as an element of national planning.

Some nations also have laws that can require wetland restoration to compensate (or "mitigate") for destruction of wetlands that occurs as the result of development. In New South Wales, Australia, State Environmental Planning Policy Number 14—Coastal Wetlands can require restoration as compensation for the destruction of wetlands. Similarly, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act in the United States can require restoration to compensate for wetland losses caused by filling of wetlands.

"Rehabilitating nature: a comparative review of legal mechanisms that encourage wetland restoration efforts", Catholic University Law Review (Washington, D.C., USA), vol. 52, no. 3 (spring 2003), pages 573-620, Roy C. Gardner.

A young bottomland hardwood swamp planted under the impetus of the Wetland Reserve Program in Louisiana, USA.

References

Crisman, T.L., and Streever, W.J., 1996. The legacy and future of tropical limnology. In Schiemer, F. and Boland, K.T. (eds.), Perspectives in Tropical Limnology, Amsterdam: SPB Academic Publishing, pp. 27-42.

Dahl, T.E., 1990. Wetlands Losses in the United States, 1780s to 1980s. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.

Denver, K., 1999. Rehabilitating Wyndgate: Bringing back wetlands on a family property in South Australia. In Streever, W.J. (ed.), An International Perspective on Wetland Rehabilitation. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 107-111.

Gaddis, D.A., and Cubbage, F.W., 1998. Wetlands regulation: Development and current practices. In Messina, M.G. and Conner, W.H. (eds.), Southern Forested Wetlands; Ecology and Management. Boca Raton, Florida: Lewis Publishers, pp. 49-84.

Jenkins, A.L., and Sturdy, I.D., 1999. Putting policy into practice in South West England. In Streever, W.J. (ed.), An International Perspective on Wetland Rehabilitation. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 81-89.

Quarto, A., 1999. Local community involvement in mangrove rehabilitation: Thailand’s Yadfon. In Streever, W.J. (ed.), An International Perspective on Wetland Rehabilitation. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 139-142.

Return to STRP Wetland Restoration index page

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 8 January 2001, updated 15 February 2002, Bill Streever and Dwight Peck.