This article was originally published on SWOS.
“…The UN Sustainable Development Goals 6, 15 and 17 state the need to sustainably manage water, protect ecosystems that provide water and strengthen partnerships and technology for their preservation, respectively, by 2030.
The Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), specifically Target 5, 14 and 15, set goals for reduction in loss of natural habitat, restoration and safeguarding of essential ecosystem services and enhancing ecosystem resilience by 2020.
Article 24 of the Ramsar Convention requests that the Ramsar Secretariat submits assessments of wetland status and trends to the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and that the Scientific and Technical Review Panel and the Communication, Education, Participation, and Awareness Oversight Panel consider guidelines on national action plans to conserve and use wetlands wisely.
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Articles 3 and 5 concern protection of wetlands in the migratory range of endangered migratory species and the restoration of wetland habitats which are under threat from human pressures respectively.
Finally, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification specifies two actions needed to halt and reverse desertification, namely that wetland areas should be reclaimed and that wetland areas, which have dried out, or those threatened by desiccation, should be restored.
These six inter-dependent and international commitments clearly state the important role that wetlands play in many ecological functions, biodiversity and important ecosystem services. The Horizon 2020 project Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS) project will help to generate, collate, and present improved knowledge, data, and understanding of wetlands, which in turn will make a major contribution to these MEAs and many other global processes which serve to protect wetlands…”
Read on at: SWOS.
