Wetlands Are Not Wastelands!
By Marianne de Nazareth
03 March, 2011
Countercurrents.org
It’s a constant battle to save wetlands everywhere in the world by environmentalists, with the galloping pressure of human populations exploding by the minute. With industrialization too land use patterns are changing and wet and marshy lands which are considered wasteland by the common man are being dredged and built over. It is in the hands of environmentalists and the media to educate policy and decision makers about the importance of these wetlands and the need to preserve them.
To define a weland : Wetlands are the transitional area between aquatic and oceanic areas and dry terrestrial ecosystems. The Ramsar Convention has defined wetlands as "areas of marsh, fen , peatland or water, whether natural or artifical, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low t ide does not exceed six meters". Wetlands include, marshes, swamps, open water bodies, mangroves, tidal flats and salt marshes which exist in every country.
Read the full article...