The World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2. (Photo: www.worldwetlandsday.org) HCM City (VNA) - TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a regionalproject to enhance the resilience of wetlands in Lower Mekong countries on theoccasion of World Wetlands Day (February 2).
Funded by the International ClimateInitiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, NatureConservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), and to be implemented until2020, the project builds climate resilience by harnessing the benefits ofwetlands in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Mekong WET will help the four countriesaddress their commitments to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty forthe conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, and to achieve the AichiBiodiversity Targets.
With wetlands featured as a key ecosystem,the project also supports governments in implementing their NationalBiodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the Convention onBiological Diversity and pursuing their commitments on climate-changeadaptation and mitigation under the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change.
There are a total of 28 Ramsar sites (wetlandsof international importance) in the four Mekong WET countries. The project willdevelop management plans, with a focus on climate-change adaptation andresilience building, in 10 selected Ramsar sites, and improve regionalcollaboration on trans-boundary wetlands management.
This will include the sharing of bestpractices, as well as capacity building for 150 wetland management staff and300 community representatives.
The project also aims to share lessons andapproaches with an additional 18 Ramsar sites, as well as a number of potentialor proposed new sites in the four Mekong WET countries.
Wetlands, like marshes, rivers, mangroves,coral reefs and other coastal and inland habitats, have many importantfunctions, including the regulation of water flows, the provision of cleanwater and carbon storage.
In the Lower Mekong region, millions ofpeople rely on wetlands for their survival.
In recent decades, infrastructuredevelopment, increased deforestation, expansion of irrigated agriculture and increasingurbanisation have resulted in the depletion of spawning and feeding grounds forfish, shrinking wetland habitats, and reduction of water quality.
Farmers are increasingly affected bysaltwater intrusion, landslides and flash floods, which are intensified byclimate change.
In line with this year’s World Wetlands Daytheme “Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction”, Mekong WET emphasises theimportant role of healthy wetland ecosystems in reducing disaster risk.
Wetlands act as natural buffers by mitigatingland erosion, the impact from floods, tsunamis and landslides, and by storinglarge amounts of water, thereby reducing peak flood flow during the wet season,while maximising water storage during the dry season.-VNA
Funded by the International ClimateInitiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, NatureConservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), and to be implemented until2020, the project builds climate resilience by harnessing the benefits ofwetlands in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Mekong WET will help the four countriesaddress their commitments to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty forthe conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, and to achieve the AichiBiodiversity Targets.
With wetlands featured as a key ecosystem,the project also supports governments in implementing their NationalBiodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the Convention onBiological Diversity and pursuing their commitments on climate-changeadaptation and mitigation under the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change.
There are a total of 28 Ramsar sites (wetlandsof international importance) in the four Mekong WET countries. The project willdevelop management plans, with a focus on climate-change adaptation andresilience building, in 10 selected Ramsar sites, and improve regionalcollaboration on trans-boundary wetlands management.
This will include the sharing of bestpractices, as well as capacity building for 150 wetland management staff and300 community representatives.
The project also aims to share lessons andapproaches with an additional 18 Ramsar sites, as well as a number of potentialor proposed new sites in the four Mekong WET countries.
Wetlands, like marshes, rivers, mangroves,coral reefs and other coastal and inland habitats, have many importantfunctions, including the regulation of water flows, the provision of cleanwater and carbon storage.
In the Lower Mekong region, millions ofpeople rely on wetlands for their survival.
In recent decades, infrastructuredevelopment, increased deforestation, expansion of irrigated agriculture and increasingurbanisation have resulted in the depletion of spawning and feeding grounds forfish, shrinking wetland habitats, and reduction of water quality.
Farmers are increasingly affected bysaltwater intrusion, landslides and flash floods, which are intensified byclimate change.
In line with this year’s World Wetlands Daytheme “Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction”, Mekong WET emphasises theimportant role of healthy wetland ecosystems in reducing disaster risk.
Wetlands act as natural buffers by mitigatingland erosion, the impact from floods, tsunamis and landslides, and by storinglarge amounts of water, thereby reducing peak flood flow during the wet season,while maximising water storage during the dry season.-VNA
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