William Collins
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This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2020
Text © Wetlands International 2020
Photographs © individual copyright holders
Wetlands International asserts their moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.
Cover and interiors designed by David Griffin
Picture research by Caroline Cortizo at Shifting Pixels
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780008390495
eBook Edition © February 2020 ISBN: 9780008405120
Version: 2020-02-05
CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION: EVERLASTING SWAMPS
UPLANDS AND COLD LANDS
RUOERGAI PLATEAU, CHINA: Rewetting bogs on the roof of the world
PARAMO DE SUNTARBAN, COLOMBIA: The secrets of Andean grasslands
LAKE LOKTAK, INDIA: How hydropower broke the mirror of Manipur
RIFT VALLEY, ETHIOPIA: East African lakes drained for a Valentine rose
MOSCOW PEATLANDS, RUSSIA: From peat mines to bog wilderness
SIBERIAN MIRES: Permafrost thawing and carbon under threat
RIVER FLOODPLAINS
ENGLISH FENS AND THE AMERICAN MIDWEST: Land grabs in ‘dismal swamps’
PANTANAL, BRAZIL: A future for the world’s largest wetland
RUPUNUNI, GUYANA: How to map the glistening grasslands
TONLE SAP, CAMBODIA: Reversing river is the beating heart of the Mekong
LAKE CHAD, WEST AFRICA: Dams, dykes and an international refugee crisis
INNER NIGER DELTA, MALI: Desert jewel on the brink
SUDD SWAMP AND MESOPOTAMIAN MARSHES: Refuges in times of conflict
RIVER RHINE, EUROPE: River ‘rectification’ replaced by ‘making room for the river’
INLAND SEAS, SWAMPS AND SUMPS
SALTON SEA, CALIFORNIA: Celebrating artificial and accidental wetlands
LAKES PRESPA AND OHRID, BALKANS: Wetland truce brings wider peace
ARAL SEA, CENTRAL ASIA: What happens when a sea dies
CUVETTE CENTRALE, CONGO: Jungle swamps and a climate time bomb
COASTAL DELTAS AND LAGOONS
RUFIJI DELTA, TANZANIA: Restoring wetland rights for wise use
MISSISSIPPI DELTA, LOUISIANA: Ol’ man river keeps on rolling
KERALA, INDIA: Crazy backwaters in ‘God’s own country’
VENICE, ITALY: When a coastal lagoon becomes an ocean bay
ACEH, INDONESIA: Mangroves to fight the next tsunami
BAY OF BENGAL, SOUTH ASIA: Absorbing cyclones in India and Bangladesh
WADDEN SEA, NETHERLANDS: Breaking dykes to stop the ocean
FLORIDA EVERGLADES, USA: Start of a blue carbon revolution
JAVA, INDONESIA: ‘God willing we plan to stay’
CONCLUSION: GROUNDSWELL
END NOTES
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CREDITS
THE AUTHORS
‘Managing land and water together is going to be key to reversing land degradation worldwide. Wetlands are critical for people and ecosystems. This has become crystal clear in dryland areas, such as around Lake Chad and the Aral Sea. The collapse of these wetland ecosystems has adversely affected the land, biological diversity and the well-being of the people. Water Lands presents a compelling and urgent call to action by all.’
Ibrahim Thiaw
Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification
‘Water Lands is exceptional because it shines a light on the importance of understanding how water systems have shaped nature, cultures and economies. Through stories and evidence from wetlands the world over, Water Lands points out how these relationships have changed and how problems can be resolved by empowering local people as central players in harnessing water and nature to secure a more resilient future.’
David Nabarro
Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change
‘Wetlands are the vital organs of a living planet. They nurse life, stabilize the climate, and anchor the water cycle locally and globally. But, as Water Lands