World Wetlands Day: Why its preservation is essential

As every year, from 1997, we celebrate World Wetlands Day, which reminds us of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands of 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, which promotes conservation and wise use. These natural spaces and their resources help to maintain the great diversity of life on our planet. This year, the slogan "Wetlands and climate change" proposes to pay attention to these two aspects which are at the heart of our management and which prepare us to face the challenges of global warming.

Wetlands – of various types: lagoons, malines, peat bogs, riverine forests, estuaries, marshes, marshes, etc. – contribute fundamentally to sustainable development by providing ecosystem goods and services essential to nature and people.. They provide us with water and food, shelter great biodiversity and help us cope with extreme events such as floods and droughts, which are becoming more common as a result of climate change.

Our country occupies a privileged position in terms of wetlands. According to estimates, they could occupy 25% of the total area of ​​the territory. These are areas in which water shapes life and develops regional economies badociated with fisheries, agriculture, forestry and tourism. It is our responsibility to carry out these tasks while preserving the ecological character of wetlands.

The first step to protect is to know. Since 2016, with President Mauricio Macri, we have committed to launch a national wetland inventory, with the aim of generating public policies to protect and promote the sustainable use of these areas. In this regard, we have advanced in this work by directing its implementation, which meant at the time the publication of the first level of the inventory. We know today that there are 11 wetland regions in the country and we work with all sectors to understand their diverse, evolving and complex dynamics.

We are also strengthening the Ramsar site network, which includes wetlands of international importance. There are 23 of these sites in our country, with an area greater than five million hectares. We have also made progress in badessing the effectiveness of these protected areas, and we are seeking to work more closely with provincial administrators to strengthen their protection.

This set of actions included in the generation of information aimed at strengthening the environmental order of the territory and the strategies for adaptation to climate change, biodiversity conservation and development. disaster risk reduction.. In short, they are an essential contribution to improving the quality of life of the people of Argentina, in accordance with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations Development Agenda for 2030, especially with regard to Goal 15, which advocates the conservation and protection of the environment. sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems; and Goal 13, on strengthening climate action.

It should be noted that wetlands are still among the most endangered ecosystems in the world. The present, characterized by floods and other far-reaching phenomena, requires us to act responsibly and strategically. We must learn to build with nature to end ecosystem degradation and leverage their valuable and multiple contributions to our development.

Recognizing the role of wetlands in maintaining biological diversity, water purification, retention of excess water, storage and absorption of greenhouse gases will allow us to increase our resilience in the face of to climate change, which is already a reality. We must also badume that we have subscribed to the Paris Agreement, that wetlands play a regulatory role against the effects of global warming and that this can be reversed by concrete actions of mitigation and mitigation. adaptation to climate change.

We must continue to work together to take charge of our common home and ensure a better future.

The author is Secretary of the Government of the Environment and Sustainable Development.