Restoring wetlands will jumpstart nature’s great comeback

Still waters run deep. Marshes, bogs, swamps, fens and areas of shallow open water that are scattered across the country are quietly keeping our environment going. These wetlands are a biological resource akin to rainforests and coral reefs and, as powerful carbon sinks, are one of the greatest tools in the fight against climate change. Having more of them, healthy and functioning, on the landscape will do more for our wildlife and wild places than you can imagine. In fact, restoring Canada’s wetlands will jumpstart nature’s great comeback.

Wetlands’ unassuming nature is part of the reason so many have been lost. Misunderstood and often undervalued, wetlands have been drained and destroyed to make room for other land uses. The world is losing wetlands three times faster than forests, and to date, up to 70 per cent of wetlands have been lost in southern areas of Canada. But conservation organizations like Ducks Unlimited Canada have been working successfully to bring them back for 85 years. Today, this work is more important than ever.

Globally, one million species are facing extinction and temperatures are projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. These sobering statistics have put restoration—activities that return natural areas to the landscape—on centre stage in global environmental efforts. The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 the decade for restoration. In Canada, the federal government has committed to restoring 30 per cent of its land and water that has been degraded by 2030. Restoration is also the theme of World Wetlands Day, a global celebration of these vital ecosystems, taking place on February 2.

Understanding that restoration is the key to nature’s recovery, there is an urgent need to focus on wetlands. Wetlands are one of Earth’s most productive ecosystems that provide habitat for an incredible 40 per cent of the world’s species. When wetlands are returned to the landscape, birds come back. Pollinators come back. And so do the land’s natural abilities to defend against things like floods and droughts. Wetland restoration creates a powerful ripple effect that generates real environmental gains.