The World Has Lots of New Accredited Urban Wetlands

Around the globe, efforts to conserve urban wetlands have been recognised after 31 metropolises were accredited as ‘wetland cities’.

Udaipur, India

The accreditation scheme - introduced by the Convention on Wetlands in 2015 - encourages cities to recognise the importance of their wetlands and commit to their protection. The convention is a five decade old intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Among those to have been accredited this year are Valdivia in Chile, where a decades-long citizen movement to protect black-necked swans led to the restoration of the Cruces River. The Chinese city Hangzhou and Geneva, Switzerland (which incorporates wetland protection into urban policy) were also amongst the new additions. Other newly recognised urban wetlands include Mehdya in Morocco, Novi Sad in Serbia, Udaipur in India, and Trelew in Argentina.

Urban wetlands face many challenges, from population growth to pollution, but bring numerous benefits, such as flood mitigation, water purification, and enhanced biodiversity. Not to mention the pleasure of the scenery for the residents in the otherwise metropolitan environment.

“Wetland city accreditation demonstrates how cities worldwide are taking concrete steps in favour of their urban wetlands,” said Dr Musonda Mumba, secretary general of the Convention on Wetlands. “By protecting, restoring and wisely using their wetlands, these cities are enhancing their resilience to climate change and improving quality of life for their residents.”

The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90 percent of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to become “Contracting Parties”.