Wetlands : The kidney of the earth

Dr N Munal Meitei
“A world without wetlands is a world without lives”. Really the Wetlands are the planet’s most vital ecosystems and cradle for Biodiversity.
February 2 is the World Wetlands Day marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971. It is the only global treaty to focus on one single ecosystem, the wetlands.
“Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage," is the theme for World Wetlands Day, 2026. It spotlights the timeless role of traditional knowledge in sustaining wetland ecosystems and preserving cultural identity and the vital connection between indigenous wisdom and the sustainable management of wetlands, a crucial global resource. It also focuses on how ancestral knowledge can sustains these ecosystems and preserves cultural practices tied to them, emphasizing community stewardship and the unique role wetlands play for humanity and nature.
Wetlands are the natural sponges for floods, purify, filter and recycle and replenish the water. They protect life on land from such a predicament. Although they cover only about 6% of the Earth’s land surface, they host 40 % of all plant and animal species representing an incre- dible ecosystem. Unfortunately, wetlands are losing their pristine as one of the ecosystems with the highest rates of loss and degradation.
While the forests are called the lungs of earth, the wetlands are the kidney for nature. Wetlands are called "nature's supermarket" for food, raw materials, genetic resources for medicines and hydro power. Wetlands are the primary sources of fresh water, natural buffers against floods and droughts. Wetlands minimize the impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation storing 30% of land-based carbon. Wetlands build community resilience to disasters and absorb pollutants. Interestingly, research shows that wetlands are effective mental health promoters.
Wetlands are the ecotones, providing a transition between land and water bodies and provide the wildlife habitats for the aquatic animals and the migratory birds. Wetlands are highly productive and bio-diverse Eco-systems that support a home to about one third of all the threatened and endangered species. They play an important role in transport, tourism and the cultural and spiritual well-being.
Wetlands are the source of 95% of the world's drinking water. Wetlands purify and filter harmful wastes from pesticides, industry and mining, including hea-vy metals and toxins. Rice and fish from wetlands, are the staple food for nearly three billion people and accounts for 20% of the world's nutritional intake.
(To be contd)