Robert Mcinnes

RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd

Built development changes the nature of land and its ecosystems, with diverse ramifications for human well-being and the resilience of the socio-ecological system. Robust and replicable approaches are required to assess ecosystem services generated by sites both pre-development and for evaluation of post-development options, to assess change and to...

1. Substantial amounts of money have been invested in peatland restoration over the last decades to address the current challenges of global changes and to enhance biodiversity. Given the magnitude of financial investments and the pressing societal needs, it is essential that appropriate decisions are made about the restoration techniques employed...

Ecosystem services provided by lowland British floodplains respectively under semi-natural conditions and converted for intensive maize production were assessed. Floodplains across lowland Britain have been extensively disconnected from river channels, depleting habitat for wildlife and other beneficial ecosystem services. Conservation measures are...

This article has been developed from the presentations made in the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) Ramsar Section’s symposium during the SWS virtual conference on December 3, 2020. It sets out a variety of challenges faced by wetlands and prposes a vision for their future.

An article written for the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management's magazine 'Enviornment' on the challenges and failures of delivering on nutrient nuetrality in England.

Sulphate (SO42-) concentrations in freshwaters have increased globally over the last decades even though a strong reduction in atmospheric sulphur (S) deposition has occurred across large parts of North America and Europe. However, the extent and effects of increased SO42- concentrations in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly unders...

This is a practical guidance manual for the application of the Rapid Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Services (RAWES) approach. The manual was developed in collabortion with the Ramsar Regional Centre - East Asia (RRC-EA).

Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICWs) are potentially effective tools in the effort to restore aquatic ecosystems, and also they incorporate multiple co-benefits. An ICW was constructed in Norfolk, UK, to address the degradation of a stream and lake receiving treated effluent from a small Sewage Treatment Works (STW). Results demonstrated that: (1...

Citizen science is increasingly recognised as a valuable approach to improve the knowledge and understanding required for robust environmental management. We report on the results of a citizen science survey conducted on the status and trends of over 500 wetlands from across the globe. Whilst many wetlands were reported as being in fair or good eco...

Ecological character and wise use are central tenets underpinning the Ramsar Convention’s global wetland ambitions. In this paper, we postulate that, given on-going and progressive degradation and destruction of wetlands, these concepts require reframing. So as to overcome the human–nature dualism, which underpins current wetland conservation, we p...

We assessed trends in the ecological character of wetlands generally and of Ramsar Sites reported in 2011, 2014 and 2017 by the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in their national reports. There was more widespread deterioration than improvement in the ecological character of wetlands generally, with deterioration increasingl...

We review the mechanisms established by the Ramsar Convention for reporting on the status and change in the ecological character of wetlands. We assess the extent of their implementation and compliance, but not issues of the adequacy of their design nor the consequences of their extent of implementation. We conclude that, with the exception of qual...

A structured literature review using the search term 'ecosystem services' found few relevant studies relating to three contrasting wetlands in West Bengal: the unpopulated Sudhanyakhali Island in the Sundarbans National Park, the populated Gosaba Island separated from Sudhanyakhali Island by a narrow channel, and the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW). Sub...

In this study, we have re-estimated the 2011 global monetary values of natural wetland ecosystem services using new information on the areas of different coastal and inland wetland classes, and included estimates for forested wetlands. The 2011 global monetary value of natural wetland ecosystem services is now estimated at Int$47.4 trillion per yea...

Covering more than 800,000 km² extending across 19 countries, the Danube River Basin can be considered as the most international river basin in the world. The basin is home to more than 81 million people of multiple countries, cultures, and languages. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is a transnational bod...

The concept of sustainable development has been embedded in development and environmental thinking for several decades. In 2000 the world's leaders established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a collective agenda to improve the lives of people across the globe. In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed, as the success...

The Wetland Book 1 is designed as a 'first port-of-call' reference work for information on the structure and functions of wetlands, current approaches to wetland management, and methods for researching and understanding wetlands. Contributions by experts summarize key concepts, orient the reader to the major issues, and support further research on...

Urban areas are composed of built structures, such as buildings and roads, and naturalistic areas, such as parks and rivers, which create local-scale climatic regimes. Within the urban environment, these various elements can combine to modify significantly the fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum and further alter atmospheric processes through an...

The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) is an international organization of approximately 3,500 members dedicated to fostering sound wetland science, education, and management. The Society was formed in March 1980. Arranged globally in chapters and working through specialist interest groups, the mission of the Society of Wetland Scientists is to pr...

Pollination is a fundamental process in plant biology whereby pollen is trans- ferred from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) to facilitate fertil- ization and reproduction. Pollination is restricted to the flower bearing plants or angiosperms. Pollination can be mediated by abiotic and biotic factors. Approx- imately 87% of all flo...

Across Europe, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are vital natural resources which provide drinking water for humans, provide habitats for many different species of wildlife, and are an important resource for inter alia agriculture, industry, and recreation. Through generations of misuse, a significant proportion of these wetlands have become degra...

A tsunami (literally Japanese for "harbour wave") is a series of ocean waves generated by sudden displacements in the sea floor through landslides or volcanic activity. In the deep ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few centimetres high but as the tsunami wave approaches the shore it may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbule...

Wetland management has over the past few decades shifted strongly toward a focus on ensuring the sustainable development of individual sites and suites of wetlands across landscapes. This considers the multiple uses of wetlands and the increasing demands for the ecosystem services they provide. The concept of sustainable development has a long hist...

Migratory species, including waterbirds, cetaceans and turtles, face many challenges as they cross national borders. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals - or as it is more commonly referred to as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention - is an environmental treaty that provides a global p...

One of the most important ecosystem services which links wetlands to human well-being is the regulation of climate. Through the storage and sequestration of carbon, wetlands play a significant role in global carbon cycles. However, wetlands can also act as a source and a sink for greenhouse gases and they can influence local and regional temperatur...

Wetlands span a diversity of wet or periodically inundated habitats, with an equally diverse set of associated cultural interpretations and values. For this reason, wetland landscapes are ascribed a wide range of inspirational qualities, but also some negative associations. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018. All r...

The integrated constructed wetland (ICW) concept has evolved from traditional considerations of constructed wetlands and is based on the holistic use of land embracing the explicit requirements for wetlands not just to improve water quality but also to demonstrate landscape fit (including physical and social landscapes) and biodiversity enhancement...

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is an intergovernmental treaty, which targets the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Greenland, and the Canadian Archipelago. The agreement was developed under the framework of the Convention o...

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment emphasized that the provision of fresh- water to humans is one of the most significant benefits derived from wetlands. Throughout the world, different types of wetlands play crucial roles in maintaining the supply of water to the majority of the world's population. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of...

Wetlands are dynamic areas, open to influence from natural and human factors. In order to maintain the way that wetlands function, their biological diversity, and the benefits that they provide to human society, it is essential to understand their management requirements. Management can take many forms. Human history is littered with examples of un...

Historical fluvial flood management practices have largely focused on reducing flooding and reducing the susceptibility to flood damage. Traditional flood management has employed structural and nonstructural interventions as well as physical and institutional interventions. However, increasingly the potential to apply land management options, and i...

The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America and the fourth longest in the world. The Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri (MOM) watershed, including the Arkansas River, covers some 4.76 million square kilometers encompassing approximately 40% of the conterminous United States of America. The water- shed comprises several major sub-catchments a...

Comprising 120 partners from across the world, BirdLife International is the world's largest nature conservation partnership. BirdLife International is driven by the belief that local people, working for nature in their own places but connected nationally and internationally through a global partnership, are the key to sustaining all life on Earth....

Natura 2000 is the centerpiece of European Union (EU) nature and biodiversity policy. It is an EU-wide network of nature protection areas established under the 1992 Habitats Directive. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conserv...

Located between latitude 6° and 24° north and longitude 8° and 24° east, Lake Chad is the fourth largest lake in Africa and represents a vast expanse of freshwater bordering the southern Sahara. The lake is located in the largest closed or endorheic basin on the African continent and covers almost 2.5 million km². Lake Chad supports wetlands th...

Natural hazards can come in many forms and can be both rapid and catastrophic and slow-moving and chronic. While major hazards such as earthquakes, drought, and famine often draw significant media interest, a much greater pro- portion of the world's population are at risk from chronic issues such as a violent conflict, illness, and hunger. Evidence...

The nutrient pollution of water bodies is a globally distributed environmental problem. An important strategy to mitigate the non-point phosphorus and nitro- gen pollution is to restore minerotrophic riparian peatlands (also termed 'fens'). Originally natural fens served important functions as sinks for nutrients and as hydrological buffers for dow...

In discussion with Ramsar’s Max Finlayson and Nick Davidson, and several members of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Springer is proposing the development of a new Encyclopedia of Wetlands, a comprehensive resource aimed at supporting the trans- and multidisciplinary research and practice which is inherent to this field. Aware both that wetlands...

Regulating services are the ecosystem processes that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality. In simple terms, regulating services can be thought to represent the services that "maintain" desired environmental condi- tions, such as a stable coastline or steady water supply. Cumulatively, these regulating services are essential to...

Unintended consequences arising from narrow consideration of outputs from water and environmental management technologies are of increasing concern, including, for example, climate-active gases and solid waste generated by increasing intensity of traditional wastewater treatment. Formerly overlooked environmental and financial costs, as well as soc...

The nutrient pollution of water bodies is a globally distributed environmental problem. An important strategy to mitigate the non-point phosphorus and nitrogen pollution is to restore minerotrophic riparian peatlands (also termed ‘fens’). Originally natural fens served important functions as sinks for nutrients and as hydrological buffers for downs...

Wetlands make essential positive contributions to multiple dimensions of human wellbeing. However, recognition of these benefits is often lacking in decision-making, compromising the wellbeing of both the ecosystem and is many linked human beneficiaries. Wetland site managers, decision-makers and stakeholders all need to better understand the benef...

A valid strategy to mitigate the eutrophication of water bodies due to non‐point source phosphorus (P) pollution and to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases is the rewetting of degraded peatlands. However, long‐term drainage and intensive agricultural use make it unlikely that the original sink functions for nutrients and carbon (C) as well as...

The concept of sustainable development has been embedded in development and environmental thinking for several decades. In 2000 the world's leaders established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a collective agenda to improve the lives of people across the globe. In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed, as the success...

The Wetland Book 1 is designed as a ‘first port-of-call’ reference work for information on the structure and functions of wetlands, current approaches to wetland management, and methods for researching and understanding wetlands. Contributions by experts summarize key concepts, orient the reader to the major issues, and support further research on...

The Ramsar Convention promotes the wise use of wetlands as a fundamental tenet behind the desire to stop and reverse the loss and degradation of wetlands. The concept of wise use has been formally defined as the maintenance of ecological character, of which ecosystem services form an integrated element. The Contracting Parties to the Convention sub...

The integrated constructed wetland (ICW) concept has evolved from traditional considerations of constructed wetlands and is based on the holistic use of land embracing the explicit requirements for wetlands not just to improve water quality but also to demonstrate landscape fit (including physical and social landscapes) and biodiversity enhancement...

The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America and the fourth longest in the world. The Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri (MOM) watershed , including the Arkansas River, covers some 4.76 million square kilometers encompassing approximately 40 % of the conterminous United States of America. The watershed comprises several major sub-catchments a...

Ecosystem services comprise the interconnected human benefits provided by the natural world, spanning interlinked value systems and societal needs. Tools to expose the wider ramifications of policies, designs and actions, also highlighting the benefits and opportunities of systemic practice, are needed to promote systemic, sustainable practice. Wat...

Urban areas are composed of built structures, such as buildings and roads, and naturalistic areas, such as parks and rivers, which create local-scale climatic regimes. Within the urban environment, these various elements can combine to modify significantly the fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum and further alter atmospheric processes through an...

The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS ) is an international organization of approximately 3,500 members dedicated to fostering sound wetland science, education, and management. The Society was formed in March 1980. Arranged globally in Chapters and working through specialist interest groups, the mission of the Society of Wetland Scientists is to p...

Wetlands are dynamic areas, open to influence from natural and human factors. In order to maintain the way that wetlands function, their biological diversity, and the benefits that they provide to human society, it is essential to understand their management requirements. Management can take many forms. Human history is littered with examples of un...

Comprising 120 partners from across the world, BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership. BirdLife International is driven by the belief that local people, working for nature in their own places but connected nationally and internationally through a global partnership, are the key to sustaining all life on Earth.

Water and land management decisions require consideration of multiple factors. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) provides a structured, auditable and transparent tool that helps inform and add rigour to multioption decisions. MCDA was used in a payment for ecosystem services (PES) project to evaluate options for delivering good ecological stat...

Wetland management has over the past few decades shifted strongly toward a focus on ensuring the sustainable development of individual sites and suites of wetlands across landscapes. This considers the multiple uses of wetlands and the increasing demands for the ecosystem services they provide. The concept of sustainable development has a long hist...

The integrated constructed wetland (ICW) concept has evolved from traditional considerations of constructed wetlands and is based on the holistic use of land embracing the explicit requirements for wetlands not just to improve water quality but also to demonstrate landscape fit (including physical and social landscapes) and biodiversity enhancement...

Historical fluvial flood management practices have largely focused on reducing flooding and reducing the susceptibility to flood damage. Traditional flood management has employed structural and nonstructural interventions as well as physical and institutional interventions. However, increasingly the potential to apply land management options, and i...

Regulating services are the ecosystem processes that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality. In simple terms, regulating services can be thought to represent the services that “maintain” desired environmental conditions, such as a stable coastline or steady water supply. Cumulatively, these regulating services are essential to m...

Unintended consequences arising from narrow consideration of outputs from water and environmental management technologies are of increasing concern, including, for example, climate-active gases and solid waste generated by increasing intensity of traditional wastewater treatment. Formerly overlooked environmental and financial costs, as well as soc...

Natural hazards can come in many forms and can be both rapid and catastrophic and slow-moving and chronic. While major hazards such as earthquakes, drought, and famine often draw significant media interest, a much greater proportion of the world’s population are at risk from chronic issues such as a violent conflict, illness, and hunger. Evidence i...

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment emphasized that the provision of freshwater to humans is one of the most significant benefits derived from wetlands (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Throughout the world, different types of wetlands play crucial roles in maintaining the supply of water to the majority of the world’s population.

Located between latitude 6° and 24° north and longitude 8° and 24° east, Lake Chad is the fourth largest lake in Africa and represents a vast expanse of freshwater bordering the southern Sahara. The lake is located in the largest closed or endorheic basin on the African continent and covers almost 2.5 million km2. Lake Chad supports wetlands that a...

A tsunami (literally Japanese for “harbour wave”) is a series of ocean waves generated by sudden displacements in the sea floor through landslides or volcanic activity. In the deep ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few centimetres high but as the tsunami wave approaches the shore it may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbule...

Pollination is a fundamental process in plant biology whereby pollen is transferred from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) to facilitate fertilization and reproduction. Pollination is restricted to the flower bearing plants or angiosperms. Pollination can be mediated by abiotic and biotic factors. Approximately 87 % of all flowerin...

Across Europe, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are vital natural resources which provide drinking water for humans, provide habitats for many different species of wildlife, and are an important resource for inter alia agriculture, industry, and recreation. Through generations of misuse, a significant proportion of these wetlands have become degra...

Covering more than 800,000 km2 extending across 19 countries, the Danube River Basin can be considered as the most international river basin in the world. The basin is home to more than 81 million people of multiple countries, cultures, and languages.

Natura 2000 is the centerpiece of European Union (EU) nature and biodiversity policy. It is an EU-wide network of nature protection areas established under the 1992 Habitats Directive. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conserv...

Society is moving from management addressing single or few outcomes towards recognition that all interventions have systemic impacts. Water management in urban environments presents particular challenges related to growing populations in finite land areas. Several sustainable drainage system (SuDS) techniques, from drainage-specific approaches to s...

The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America and the fourth longest in the world. The Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri (MOM) watershed , including the Arkansas River, covers some 4.76 million square kilometers encompassing approximately 40 % of the conterminous United States of America. The watershed comprises several major sub-catchments a...

One of the most important ecosystem services which links wetlands to human well-being is the regulation of climate. Through the storage and sequestration of carbon, wetlands play a significant role in global carbon cycles. However, wetlands can also act as a source and a sink for greenhouse gases and they can influence local and regional temperatur...

Wetlands span a diversity of wet or periodically inundated habitats, with an equally diverse set of associated cultural interpretations and values. For this reason, wetland landscapes are ascribed a wide range of inspirational qualities, but also some negative associations. Understanding how the public and different decision-makers interpret wetlan...

Pollination is a fundamental process in plant biology whereby pollen is transferred from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) to facilitate fertilization and reproduction. Pollination is restricted to the flower bearing plants or angiosperms. Pollination can be mediated by abiotic and biotic factors. Approximately 87 % of all flowerin...

Migratory species, including waterbirds, cetaceans and turtles, face many challenges as they cross national borders. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals – or as it is more commonly referred to as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention – is an environmental treaty that provides a global p...

This study was conducted in the course of a fen rewetting project in NE Germany aiming to restore a heavily drained spring-percolation mire used as pasture land for more than 100 years. Shallow top soil removal (TSR) up to 40cm was applied to remove the upper degraded peat layer in order to eliminate accumulated nutrients and unwanted seed banks as...

Rewetting of long-term drained fens often results in the formation of eutrophic shallow lakes with an average water depth of less than 1 m. This is accompanied by a fast vegetation shift from cultivated grasses via submerged hydrophytes to helophytes. As a result of rapid plant dying and decomposition, these systems are highly dynamic wetlands char...

Ecosystems, and wetlands in particular, provide services that support and enhance human well being. In an increasingly urbanising world, the appropriate planning and management of ecosystem services can benefit a growing urban population. In 2011 UN-Habitat's Governing Council adopted a Resolution that provided a mandate to promote biodiversity, we...

The benefits human societies derive from wetlands are well established, although not necessarily enshrined in legislation or incorporated into local management regimes. The wise use of wetlands, as promulgated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, is intended as a mechanism to ensure that the benefits delivered to society through ecosystem servi...

This Briefing Note expands on the principles for the planning and management of urban and peri-urban wetlands agreed by the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention, and aims to help managers and planners of towns and cities ensure the wise use of wetlands. Sustainable towns and cities can drive economic development, increase wealth generation...

The environmental and financial costs of inputs to, and unintended consequences arising from narrow consideration of outputs from, water and environmental management technologies highlight the need for low-input solutions that optimise outcomes across multiple ecosystem services. Case studies examining the inputs and outputs associated with several...

The primary objective of this Briefing Note is to raise awareness, across all sectors, of the potential benefits of wetland restoration. Its intention is to catalyse efforts that stem the loss and degradation of wetlands, enhance ecosystem functioning, and thus increase wetland benefits. By highlighting the linkages with existing Ramsar documentati...

This research addressed measures necessary to overcome barriers to the implementation of integrated resource management solutions delivering multiple ecosystem services, using the case of the Anne Valley integrated constructed wetlands (ICWs) in County Waterford, Ireland. The benefits of ICWs are reviewed, and feedback from interviews with a range...

Awareness of the need for social, economic and environmental coherence in the management of water is becoming evermore apparent. Water supply as well as treatment is becoming more costly; a challenge that is not only limited to developing countries. The use of wetlands, natural and constructed, is now more widely accepted as a means of tackling a r...

Humans have sought to manage and exploit wetlands from the beginning of recorded history. From the early modifications of the marshlands of Mesopotamia to the draining of the English Fens, the management of wetlands has always reflected the major societal and economic drivers of the times. Early efforts at conservation management focussed primarily...