More than 1 billion people make a living from wetlands. Protecting wetlands is critical to ensuring that these people continue to benefit from these ecosystems for their livelihoods — whether it be for fishing, rice farming, tourism or transport.

Wetlands also sustain biodiversity by offering habitat for numerous freshwater and saltwater species, provide people with food and fresh water, protect shores against flooding, and store carbon, which helps regulate climate change.

“Water systems not only provide immediate benefits to hundreds of millions of people who depend on functioning wetlands, but also regional and global benefits to keep the integrity of Earth’s ecosystems,” said Naoko Ishii, the CEO of the Global Environment Fund and CEPF Donor Council member. “The global community needs to stand together to make sure that wetlands get the needed attention on the global agenda.”

According to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 64 percent of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. And the degradation of wetlands is expected to continue at an accelerated rate of 1.5 percent annually.

Across the biodiversity hotspots — Earth’s most biologically rich yet threatened areas — CEPF grantees are helping to restore wetlands and promote sustainable livelihoods.

In Cambodia, three CEPF grantees — Chamroen Chiet Khmer, Mlup Baitong, and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) — came together to save wetlands that are critically important to local villagers, as well as the globally threatened sarus crane (Grus antigone).

At Anlung Pring, a wetland has been restored to include a wildlife protection zone, as well as an area set aside for community water supply. And efforts are underway to increase ecotourism, particularly for bird watchers. “We are working with local people to develop a marketing and business development plan, create a management committee and train people in guiding, homestays and more,” reports WWT. “The first two seasons welcomed a couple of hundred visitors.”

This number may seem small, but for a community surviving on less than $3 a day per household, this income from ecotourism is significant. And it provides an incentive for local communities to continue sustainable wetland management.

Besides ecotourism efforts, CEPF grantees around the world are supporting wetlands protection via efforts to sustainably manage fisheries, develop management plans, restore degraded areas and more.

Learn about some of these efforts:

Developing a management plan for Ethiopia’s Little Abbai Mouth Wetlands

High population density and expansion of agricultural activities threaten Ethiopia’s Little Abbai Mouth Wetlands, where the Little Abbai River flows into Lake Tana. Degradation of the wetland has led to a decline in fish, pushing many fishermen to start using destructive fishing gear and causing many endemic Labeobarbus fish species in the lake to become Endangered.

With support from CEPF through its investment in the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, the Bahir Dar University is improving management of Little Abbai River Mouth Wetlands by working with local stakeholders to rehabilitate the wetland and preserve its use for sustainable livelihoods.

Planned Results

• Rehabilitate 20 hectares of the wetland with papyrus plants (Cyprus papyrus) and train 10 local women on papyrus crafting.
• Establish two fish cooperatives, train four women in fish gear making and six women in fish processing.
• Establish communications among 20 local stakeholders.
• Develop a Wetlands Management Plan for Little Abbai Mouth Wetlands.
• Generate increased awareness about wetlands conservation among 630 local people and train 120 local people in wetlands conservation advocacy.

Establishing ecotourism and beekeeping in Rwanda’s Rugezi Marsh

The Rugezi Marsh is the largest peatland in Rwanda and a key biodiversity area in the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. In addition to supplying water, fodder and plant materials to more than 2,000 households, the wetland also provides habitat for Endangered Grauer’s rush warbler (Bradypterus graueri). Rugezi Marsh was declared a Ramsar Site (a site designated as a wetland of international importance) in 2005 and accorded protected-area status by the Rwandan government that same year, but human activities within the wetland threaten its ecological integrity.

CEPF grantee Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is working to improve the technical skills of community-based groups and partners in conservation finance to sustain efforts aimed at mitigating degradation of Rugezi Marsh.

Planned Results

• Enable four community groups to run viable alternative livelihood projects in ecotourism and beekeeping.
• Facilitate three training workshops covering conservation finance, value-chain analysis, and impact monitoring and evaluation.
• Develop business plans for ecotourism, beekeeping and craft-making projects, and identify local and regional markets for these.
• Change attitudes and behavior toward the wetland and species of conservation importance.

Learn more about EWT’s ongoing efforts at Rugezi Marsh.

Improving cross-border management of Lake Skadar in the Mediterranean

Home to threatened Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), Lake Skadar (located between Albania and Montenegro) is the largest lake in the Balkans. This iconic wetland and the species it supports face many threats, such as overfishing, urbanization and pollution.

With funding from CEPF through its program in the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, Noé Conservation is improving the cross-border management of the lake by promoting innovative partnerships around Dalmatian pelican conservation and “pelican-friendly” tourism activities that will reduce threats to the colony while improving local livelihoods.

Planned Results

• Build two nature trails to attract tourists.
• Improve Dalmatian pelican research and monitoring practices by developing a database, producing live videos of breeding and nesting sites and training Albanian and Montenegrin rangers on monitoring protocols.
• Promote the natural heritage of Lake Skadar via communications campaigns and environmental education for the general public and local stakeholders.

Learn more about Noé Conservation’s efforts around Lake Skadar.

Integrating fisheries management and wetlands conservation in Cambodia

Cambodia’s Stung Treng Ramsar Site is one of the most important wetlands in the Mekong Basin. More than 10,000 people live within the site, and numerous migrant fishermen use it on a seasonal basis. An increase in destructive fishing practices and overfishing threaten the wetland and its fisheries.

With funding from CEPF for the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) is working with community members to establish ecosystem-based fisheries co-management. The goal is to reduce threats to wetlands biodiversity, while improving local livelihoods in the long run through the recovery of fisheries resources.

Planned Results

• Develop management plans for at least two new fish conservation zones.
• Establish a learning network for the Community Fisheries Group.
• Facilitate long-term policy engagement of local communities for Stung Treng’s management planning and implementation.

Watch a video showcasing lessons learned from this initiative.

Linking fragmented freshwater swamps in India

Freshwater swamps, also known as Myristica swamps, are recognized as one of the most fragile ecosystems in the Western Ghats Region of India. Dubbed as a “lifeline for freshwater organisms,” the swamps provide critical habitat for biodiversity, and many of the swamps are also considered sacred by local people.

CEPF grantee Snehakunja Trust aimed to demonstrate how species recovery and habitat restoration go hand-in-hand. By working with local communities to restore the fragmented swamps, the genetic viability for five globally threatened plant species increased. Snehakunja Trust included local people in the restoration by supporting local traditions of swamp-tree worshipping and empowering local people, including women’s groups, via creation of village forest committees, swamp restoration committees and a community trust fund. In order to reduce dependency on swamps by local people, community assets like fuel-efficient ovens and driers were developed for use in the collection of non-timber forest produce.

Additional Results

• Identified and mapped more than 100 swamps.
• Restored six degraded freshwater swamps.
• Developed a list of highly useful species that benefit local people.

Mobilizing freshwater biodiversity information in Madagascar

Degradation and loss of habitat threatens freshwater species in Madagascar, where approximately 85 percent of the endemic freshwater fish were assessed as threatened in 2004. New designation of protected areas, including terrestrial wetlands, could serve as a powerful tool for conservation of these species. This would also benefit people who rely on freshwater wetlands and inland fisheries for food and clean drinking water.

CEPF grantee the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is mobilizing the expertise of a large number of scientists to identify the most important sites for conservation of freshwater biodiversity in Madagascar.

Planned Results

• Draft IUCN Red List assessments for freshwater species in Madagascar.
• Identify freshwater key biodiversity areas in Madagascar.
• Share results with the Malagasy government and protected-area managers to guide further expansion of the protected-area network by including the most important freshwater ecosystems.
• Raise awareness about the importance of inland wetlands and the services they provide for Madagascar’s people.

Securing wetlands and grasslands for cranes in South Africa

The largest and rarest of the six species of crane in Africa, the Vulnerable wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus), serves as a flagship species for securing protected areas in South Africa’s southern Drakensberg foothills. Here, degradation of wetlands and grasslands threatens the wattled crane population, which relies heavily on habitats in privately owned farm land.

CEPF grantee the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) worked to include 28 farms in four cluster sites (totaling 19,250 hectares) in the Biodiversity Stewardship Programme. By conserving habitat, removing alien invasive plants, and implementing grazing management activities and wetland rehabilitation, EWT and its private landowner partners are helping to ensure that the sites will continue to provide life-sustaining benefits to people in the years to come.

Additional Results

• Developed a tourism business plan for the Penny Park site, which was submitted to Working for Wetlands, a government natural resource management program.
• Completed eight aerial surveys to assess wattled, grey crowned and blue crane numbers and breeding productivity from 2012 to 2015.
• Interaction with three farmers’ associations and 55 landowners to increase awareness of the Biodiversity Stewardship Programme, cranes and wetland conservation.
• Interaction with more than 2,000 community members and eight local schools to increase awareness of crane and wetland conservation.

Learn more about efforts to protect critical ecosystems in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot.

Empowering civil society to protect wetlands and promote sustainable livelihoods is one way CEPF grantees contribute to achieving the Aichi biodiversity targets, the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on Biological Diversity’s goals for reducing pressure on biodiversity and enhancing its benefits to people. These efforts also contribute to the new U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which underline that reducing poverty requires the protection and restoration of ecosystems such as wetlands.