To the Editor — It is widely appreciated that the world’s wetlands provide important ecosystem services including critical biodiversity, stores of carbon and strong cultural links to people. Yet wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate due to diversion and abstraction of water, to conversion to agricultural land and to pollution. In response, there has been a major commitment to conserve and restore wetlands worldwide, including more than 2,400 sites on the territories of 172 Contracting Parties of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Sites), covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres. Some wetlands, such as Doñana in southern Spain, are also World Heritage sites to protect their natural and cultural values. The Ramsar Convention and UNESCO World Heritage Convention strongly support the rights of non-governmental organizations to appraise the status and management of designated sites and welcome reports of threats to site integrity. However, such claims should be substantiated by all the available scientific evidence.
Source: Ecology - nature.com
