Conserving the Wetlands

Prakriti Ashwin

start

Conserving the Wetlands

Index

Importance of mangroves and wetlands

HUman impact

Proposed solution

Importance of Mangroves and Wetlands

• Wetlands: areas where water covers the soil
• Coastal or inland
• Mangroves: type of coastal wetland
• Absorbs four times the carbon dioxide that other forests can
• Provide ideal conditions for both marine and freshwater organisms
• Among the most productive ecosystems, supporting high biodiversity
• Plants and microbes take up sediments and excess nutrients or break them down

Importance of Mangroves and Wetlands

• Pollutants are absorbed by plants and soil
• Support people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Medicine
• Fuelwood
• Tourism opportunities
• Coral reefs depend on mangroves
• Reduce flooding and coastal erosion

DAM CONSTRUCTION

Commercial Development

Human Impact

• Malls
• Airports
• Roads and parking space
• Sedimentation, habitat loss, and redirection of water flow

• Decreases natural sediment flow downstream, preventing estuary formation
• Impacts migration patterns
• Disconnects rivers from floodplains and wetland areas

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURAL WASTE

• Harvesting faster than they replenish
• imbalances based on size, age, and species
• Leads to trophic cascades
• Alligators = ecosystem engineers

• CAFO manure lagoons
• Synthetic waste and chemicals flow to wetlands
• Fertilizer and pesticide runoff: algal blooms

Human Impact

OVERFISHING

Human Impact

Without wetlands, we are vulnerable.

• Food and water security will decline, affecting millions of people.
• Without wetlands, hurricanes, high tides, and floods will cause greater destruction.
• Rising sea levels and salinization will irreparably damage coastal communities
• Culturally and commercially valuable species will continue to disappear.

Proposed Solution: Constructing Wetlands

WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ARE MAKING PROGRESS.

• Wetlands International's Green Coast initiative supports poor communities while restoring 1,000 hectares of mangroves, benefiting 91,000 people.
• No Net Loss Goal – Damaged wetlands are restored to be self-sufficient, with new wetlands created by excavating upland soils.
• Careful Wetland Modification – Wetland losses must be compensated through restoration, and enhancements and must be managed to avoid unintended ecological trade-offs.

• Secures livelihoods for vulnerable communities.
• Empowers locals by integrating indigenous knowledge.
• As a compensation for possible relocation
• Ensures long-term access to clean water.

• Build reputation
• Conservation and development for overall growth.

• Protects resources, reducing conflicts.
• Enables access to global funding.
• With strong enforcement

• Lowers costs for flood control, water filtration, and storm protection.
• Supports fisheries, agriculture, and eco-tourism.
• Creates jobs and economic security.
• Despite high restoration costs

ECONOMIC FOCUS

POLITICAL IMPLICATION

Social Impact

Proposed Solution: Constructing Wetlands

“2019 Wetlands Status and Trends Report | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.” Www.fws.gov, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1 Apr. 2024, www.fws.gov/project/2019-wetlands-status-and-trends-report. “Adapting to Climate Change: Mangrove Forests for Coastal Restoration.” International, Wetlands. Youtu.be, 6 May 2008, youtu.be/G3KCThs4XQU. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025. AP Classroom. “Human Associated Threats.” Collegeboard.org, 2020, apclassroom.collegeboard.org/14/home?apd=rgnsi3q79b&unit=8. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025. AP Classroom. “Human Impacts on Mangroves and Wetlands.” Collegeboard.org, 2020, apclassroom.collegeboard.org/14/home?apd=ayo6ihicvb&unit=8. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025. “Inside the Mangrove Forest.” Khaled bin Sultan Living Ocean Foundation. Youtu.be, 18 Mar. 2016, youtu.be/cwTZhyA57mA. “Wetlands Restoration Definitions and Distinctions.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 30 June 2015, www.epa.gov/wetlands/wetlands-restoration-definitions-and-distinctions.

Works Cited

Thank you!

One-third of our wetlands are lost and more are critically endangered. We must act.