Wetland loss could cause $39 trillion in economic losses by 2050
A new report has found that the global loss of wetlands could lead to economic losses worth $39 trillion by 2050.
The Secretariat of the Convention on the Protection of Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, has published a report titled "The Global State of Wetlands 2025: The Value, Protection and Financing of Wetlands."
The report summarized the following:
* Since 1970, approximately 22 percent of wetlands, which include freshwater ecosystems such as peatlands, rivers and lakes, and coastal marine ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs, have disappeared.
* Global wetland loss has reached 411 million hectares, with a quarter of remaining wetlands in a 'degraded state .'
* If the current rate of loss continues, another 20 percent of remaining wetlands are at risk of disappearing by 2050. This will result in an economic loss of approximately $39 trillion.
According to the report, the main causes of wetland loss include pollution, invasive species and climate change.
Covering only 6 to 7 percent of the world's land surface, wetlands provide habitat or breeding grounds for approximately 40 percent of all plant and animal species.
These ecosystems, which play a critical role in the processes of carbon retention and release, play an important role in combating climate change by balancing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
Wetlands also stand out as natural barriers that mitigate the effects of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heavy rainfall.
Wetlands, which are also of great importance in terms of drinking water supply and food security, support groundwater that provides drinking water to approximately 3 billion people.
In addition, rice, which is the main food source for 3.5 billion people around the world, is mostly grown in these areas.
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