Topic: 2025-Conserving Wetlands
Country: Denmark
Delegate Name: Amari Carthron
Amari Carthron
Denmark
IUCN
Conserving Wetlands
Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
Wetlands are one type of many natural resources around the world. They are formally defined as areas of soil that are saturated with or covered by water. Wetlands are home to many different types of organisms including species of birds including ducks and geese, mammals such as otters and beavers, and different species of fish such as the flounder and the sea bass. Beyond providing food, breeding grounds, and shelter for these animals, wetlands also have many functional uses for humans. Wetlands are used for recreation, tourism, and commercial harvesting of fish. Wetlands also provide many different environmental benefits. They act as natural reservoirs that maintain water levels during dry seasons or contain extra water during times of excess snow melt or rainfall. They also negate the impact of flooding and other natural disasters. Peat heavy wetlands are also capable of nearly as much carbon sequestration as forests while taking up 10% of the space.
Despite their numerous benefits and versatility, wetlands are disappearing around the world due to abuse perpetrated by humans. Wetlands are frequently polluted by agricultural and industrial runoff. They are also frequently drained for resource extraction and agricultural purposes. The rising sea levels caused by climate change have also had a hand in the worldwide damage done to wetlands.
The country of Denmark has dealt with several of these issues and entered the Ramsar convention on wetlands in 1978. A green tripartite agreement has also been signed between the government, environmental and agricultural groups, and the industries responsible for much of the pollution. In the past few decades, Danish wetlands have been restored with moderate success. However, the biodiversity that was once present in natural wetlands has been lost during the restoration process. Wetlands that were restored had significantly lower species richness as compared to natural wetlands. Many restored wetlands are still too dry and have high nitrogen pollution in the soil.
While efforts to work toward biodiversity conservation have been made, they have reached a standstill due to a lack of clear and defined goals. In order to combat the continuing problem of wetland pollution, the Danish government has invested more heavily in their restoration. Different restoration strategies that have been proposed include the use of grazing animals to increase plant biodiversity and create more favorable conditions for different species, as well as monitoring the amount of discharge from surrounding fields that enters wetlands and decreasing it. An establishment of clear policies and restrictions that align with the goal of protecting wetlands must also be done through the tripartite agreement in order to prevent efforts from once again reaching a standstill.
Works Cited
“20 years on, biodiversity struggles to take root in restored wetlands across Denmark.” University of Copenhagen, 7 Feb. 2025, https://phys.org/news/2025-02-years-biodiversity-struggles-root-wetlands.html
“The Convention on Wetlands.” Rasmar, https://www.ramsar.org/country-profile/denmark
