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A Citizen Science State of the World’s Wetlands Survey
Abstract and Figures
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 ecological character state, many (particularly those already in a poor state) were reported as deteriorating. Although designated Ramsar Sites were reported as currently having a slightly better state than other wetlands, widespread deterioration of Ramsar Sites as well as other wetlands was reported. Significant regional differences were reported on the state of wetlands and their extent of improvement or deterioration. Large wetlands, particularly in Africa but also in Latin America and the Caribbean, were reported to be in a worse, and increasingly deteriorating, state than smaller wetlands in North America, Europe and Oceania. Numerous drivers are contributing to degradation and loss of wetlands. However, our data suggest that positive outcomes can be delivered where local community awareness, implementation of conservation measures, cultural values/traditions, tourism and forestry are proactively integrated in order to achieve the wise use of wetlands.
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... Information summarised in this chapter is drawn particularly from 12 recently published papers and reports: Davidson (2014), Dixon et al. (2016), Davidson (2018), , Finlayson (2018, 2019), Darrah et al. (2019), Davidson et al. (2020), McInnes et al. (2020, Convention on Wetlands (2021), Simpson et al. (2021), Fluet-Chouinard et al. (in press). 9.2 Wetland area change-Natural and human-made ...
... These national reports asked Parties to report on whether the ecological character of their wetlands generally and their designated Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) have improved, not changed or deteriorated since their previous reports. (b) results of two 'citizen science' State of the World's Wetlands surveys, conducted in 2017 (McInnes et al., 2020) and 2020 (Simpson et al., 2021), of the current state (good, fair, poor) and trends in state (major improvement, improvement, not changing, deterioration, major deterioration) of wetlands. A similar number of reports were received for the 2017 (541) and 2020 (514) surveys, but it is important to note that most reports to the 2020 survey were for different wetlands than those in the 2017 survey, with only 52 wetlands being reported on in both surveys. ...
... In most regions and globally, most wetlands were reported as being in a fair state in 2017 and 2020 (McInnes et al., 2020;Simpson et al., 2021). Globally, slightly more wetlands were reported as being in a good ecological character state than in a poor state (ECSIs: 2017 + 0.060; 2020 + 0.097) ( Fig. 9.3). ...
... In studies undertaken on Ramsar sites, the effectiveness of the management in maintaining their ecological character has been questioned. Using a citizen science approach, McInnes et al. (2020) demonstrated that, globally, the state or trajectory of change in the state of wetlands designated as Ramsar sites did not differ significantly from those not classed as being PAs, with one-third of Ramsar sites assessed as being in a poor state, although the baselines for these outcomes were not provided. It was not ascertained if this was relative to the time of listing as a Ramsar site or to the natural state of the wetland. ...
... It was not ascertained if this was relative to the time of listing as a Ramsar site or to the natural state of the wetland. The outcome reported by McInnes et al. (2020) is alarming as there is an expectation that the degree of protection conferred under the Convention should support the protection and management of internationally important sites. This conclusion differs from other assessments that suggest that Ramsar sites are being managed more effectively to provide positive conservation outcomes in comparison to non-protected sites (Bowman, 2002;Pittock et al., 2015). ...
... Within this region, the importance of an effective management plan was also identified as a positive factor. This supports observations from elsewhere that a robust management plan, which is subject to routine evaluation of its effectiveness, can be critical to maintain and enhance the ecological character of wetland PAs, and Ramsar sites in particular (Alexander, 2018;Gaget et al., 2020;McInnes et al., 2020), including those needed to maintain migratory species that depend on sites along flyways as noted by Finlayson et al. (2018b). 14.9 Managing wetlands as socio-ecological systems Rather than managing wetlands as features of nature that are separate from humanity, the wise use provision of the Ramsar Convention (Finlayson et al., 2011) recognises that humans are important elements of wetland ecosystems. ...
... The continued loss and degradation of wetlands throughout the early part of the 21st century Ramsar, 2018;Darrah et al., 2019;McInnes et al., 2020; see also Chapter 9) indicates a failure by wetland managers and policy-makers to come to grips with the increasing human impact on wetland resources, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. It is accompanied by an increasing recognition, possibly belatedly, that any reliance on wetland restoration as a solution to the loss and degradation of wetlands is unlikely to reverse the current trends (Chapter 15). ...
... Despite their small original footprint, a recent assessment shows that wetland extent, where data are available, declined by an average of 35% between 1970 and 2015, with the rate of loss increasing over that time (Darrah et al., 2019). To compound this loss, much of the remaining wetland area is degraded and continues to decline (Gardner and Finlayson, 2018;McInnes et al., 2020; see also Chapter 9). As wetlands are lost and degraded, the critical ecological processes or functions that they support are diminished or lost, as are the ecosystem services generated/produced by those processes. ...
... It is widely recognised that the areas designated as 'wetlands', which also includes riparian zones, are amongst the most threatened ecosystems across the world (McInnes et al., 2020). When these areas are wisely managed, they provide habitat for a suite of microorganisms, plants, and animals which together create the special character of wetland ecosystems. ...
For successful restoration of wetland and riparian systems, we need to recognise several key points: Wetland systems exist because of, and are governed by hydrology, so hydrological restoration is imperative. Wetlands always have been and need to be temporally and spatially variable, changes in flow and water availability are natural; so restoration of those characters are necessary for successful wetland restoration. Wetlands are closely linked to their surrounding environment as a water and nutrient source; where possible they should be restored in relation to whole landscape restoration. Wetland systems can be resilient and are capable of recovery to a functioning state; the recovery goal, appropriate methods, available resources and subsequent management and monitoring are vital to success.
... Rutter et al. (2022) for example demonstrated that awareness of wetland ecological benefits and a stronger sense of connection to wetlands resulted into a greater willingness to participate in wildlife recreation in wetlands and conservation. McInnes et al. (2020) further stress that citizen science is increasingly recognized as a valuable approach to make wetland management more robust. There are also methodological hurdles to be tackled. ...
Rapidly developing societies in East-Africa impose increasing pressures on wetlands due to rising food demand and degradation of upland soils. Reconciling wetland conservation with human needs for food and energy is therefore becoming an increasing contentious issue. Stakeholders and actor coalitions generate and apply a great variety of meanings, values, and interests when interacting with wetlands which are hardly predictable. Wetland policy-making is hence fraught with uncertainties which need to be managed for finding solutions to this problem. Based on experiences of a collaborative wetland research in East-Africa we developed a new wetland policy process framework which promotes social deliberation and reconciliation of plural wetland values to reduce these uncertainties. A new cognitive-driven information design (CDID) method has been developed to assist wetland policy-analysts in achieving these aims and also to overcome limitations of prescriptive decision-making. The method employs information and communication technologies to analyze, integrate and visualize complex socio-ecological wetland information for developing policy scenarios. It is applied at all stages of the wetland policy process including agenda setting, identification of plural wetland values, establishment of decision-scenarios, social deliberation during policy formulation, governmental decision-taking, policy implementation and evaluation. A three-stage implementation process is recommended.
... 53 . Further, Ramsar wetlands of international importance are considered to be in better condition than wetlands in general 52 . 55 . ...
The United Nations (UN) 1977 Water Conference at Mar del Plata (MDP) sought to avoid a water crisis of global dimensions by 2000 and to ensure an adequate supply of good quality water to meet socioeconomic needs. While much has been achieved, the MDP goals are not yet realised. Unsafe, or perceived to be unsafe, drinking water still affects at least 2 billion people, unsafe sanitation affects more than 4 billion people, and billions face severe water scarcity for at least part of the year. At the mid-point of the 2018-2028 International Decade for Action, 'Water for Sustainable Development', the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York City (NYC) offers a unique opportunity to review progress on global water goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 6 and its targets. Here, we document the global goals and progress from MDP to NYC and highlight priorities to deliver on the MDP goals and beyond.
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 qualitative national-scale reporting in triennial Contracting Party National Reports, there is inadequate implementation and compliance with most of these mechanisms, notably concerning required reporting under Article 3.2 of the Convention and the updating of the Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS). This limits the ability of the Convention to assess the status, and trends in status, of designated Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), and to inform future decision-making and priority-setting for the wise use of all wetlands. As has been recognised by the Ramsar Convention, unless compliance with these mechanisms is improved, sufficient information will not be gathered through the mechanisms of Ramsar Convention to assess fully the Sustainable Development Goal 6.6.1 indicator supported by the Convention on change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time.
Citizen scientists are increasingly engaged in gathering biodiversity information, but trade-offs are often required between public engagement goals and reliable data collection. We compared population estimates for 18 widespread butterfly species derived from the first 4 years (2011-2014) of a short-duration citizen science project (Big Butterfly Count [BBC]) with those from long-running, standardized monitoring data collected by experienced observers (U.K. Butterfly Monitoring Scheme [UKBMS]). BBC data are gathered during an annual 3-week period, whereas UKBMS sampling takes place over 6 months each year. An initial comparison with UKBMS data restricted to the 3-week BBC period revealed that species population changes were significantly correlated between the 2 sources. The short-duration sampling season rendered BBC counts susceptible to bias caused by interannual phenological variation in the timing of species' flight periods. The BBC counts were positively related to butterfly phenology and sampling effort. Annual estimates of species abundance and population trends predicted from models including BBC data and weather covariates as a proxy for phenology correlated significantly with those derived from UKBMS data. Overall, citizen science data obtained using a simple sampling protocol produced comparable estimates of butterfly species abundance to data collected through standardized monitoring methods. Although caution is urged in extrapolating from this U.K. study of a small number of common, conspicuous insects, we found that mass-participation citizen science can simultaneously contribute to public engagement and biodiversity monitoring. Mass-participation citizen science is not an adequate replacement for standardized biodiversity monitoring but may extend and complement it (e.g., through sampling different land-use types), as well as serving to reconnect an increasingly urban human population with nature.
Citizen science has advanced science for hundreds of years, contributed to many peer-reviewed articles, and informed land management decisions and policies across the United States. Over the last 10 years, citizen science has grown immensely in the United States and many other countries. Here, we show how citizen science is a powerful tool for tackling many of the challenges faced in the field of conservation biology. We describe the two interwoven paths by which citizen science can improve conservation efforts, natural resource management, and environmental protection. The first path includes building scientific knowledge, while the other path involves informing policy and encouraging public action. We explore how citizen science is currently used and describe the investments needed to create a citizen science program. We find that:
1. Citizen science already contributes substantially to many domains of science, including conservation, natural resource, and environmental science. Citizen science informs natural resource management, environmental protection, and policymaking and fosters public input and engagement.
2. Many types of projects can benefit from citizen science, but one must be careful to match the needs for science and public involvement with the right type of citizen science project and the right method of public participation.
3. Citizen science is a rigorous process of scientific discovery, indistinguishable from conventional science apart from the participation of volunteers. When properly designed, carried out, and evaluated, citizen science can provide sound science, efficiently generate high-quality data, and help solve problems.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716301963
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 year, 43.5% of the value of all natural biomes. Despite forming only ,15% of global natural wetland area, coastal wetlands are estimated to deliver 43.1% (Int$20.4 trillion per year) of the total global ecosystem services monetary value of all natural wetland classes. There is a need to further refine these value estimates by factoring in other determinants of wetland ecosystem service monetary value, by disaggregating unit monetary values to each wetland class and by updating unit monetary values with more recent sources, especially for ecosystem services with no, or few, value estimates.
Indicators of status and trends in wetland extent are essential for monitoring progress towards the environmental
targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Here, we test the value of the Wetland Extent Trends (WET)
index as an updatable indicator of trends in wetland area and its application to global and regional scale assessments
and national reporting. We expand the indicator to include a regional trend for Latin America and the
Caribbean and a global human-made WET index. Based on a sample of over 2000 wetland records, natural
wetland extent declined on average by 35% globally, at an increasing rate from 1970 to 2015. Human-made
wetlands, however, increased by 233% from 1970 to 2014. The continuing decline in natural wetland extent
suggests that global targets will not be achieved without significant further efforts.
We compiled available data and information on the global and regional areas (Ramsar regions), and changes in area, of 22 classes of marine or coastal and inland wetlands. From those classes for which there is information, inland natural surface wetlands (forming ,77% of total surface wetland extent) are dominated by non-forested peatlands, marshes and swamps on alluvial soils, with peatlands forming ,33% of natural inland wetlands. The smaller area of marine or coastal wetlands (,10% of total wetland extent) is dominated by unvegetated tidal flats and saltmarshes. Largest areas of human-made wetlands for which there is information are rice paddy and water storage bodies, with a much smaller area of tropical oil palm and pulpwood plantations. These human-made wetlands are all increasing in area. The reported decline in global natural wetland area is occurring across almost all classes of inland and marine or coastal natural wetlands. Total global wetland area estimated from these wetland classes is between 15.2 Â 10 6 and 16.2 Â 10 6 km 2 , similar to recent global wetland area estimates derived from remote sensing. Given the considerable data gaps for area of wetland classes, even the most recent other estimates of global wetland extent are likely to be underestimates.
Agriculture and urbanization have disturbed three-quarters of global ice-free land surface, delivering huge amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to freshwater ecosystems. These excess nutrients degrade habitat and threaten human food and water security at a global scale. Because most catchments are either currently subjected to, or recovering from anthropogenic nutrient loading, understanding the short- and long-term responses of river nutrients to changes in land use is essential for effective management. We analyzed a never-published, 18-year time series of anthropogenic (NO3- and PO43-) and naturally derived (dissolved silica) riverine nutrients in 13 catchments recovering from agricultural pollution in western France. In a citizen science initiative, high-school students sampled catchments weekly, which ranged from 26 to 1489km2. Nutrient concentrations decreased substantially over the period of record (19 to 50% for NO3- and 14 to 80% for PO43-), attributable to regional, national, and international investment and regulation, which started immediately prior to monitoring. For the majority of catchments, water quality during the summer low-flow period improved faster than during winter high-flow conditions, and annual minimum concentrations improved relatively faster than annual maximum concentrations. These patterns suggest that water-quality improvements were primarily due to elimination of discrete nutrient sources with seasonally-constant discharge (e.g. human and livestock wastewater), agreeing with available land-use and municipal records. Surprisingly, long-term nutrient decreases were not accompanied by changes in nutrient seasonality in most catchments, attributable to persistent, diffuse nutrient stocks. Despite decreases, nutrient concentrations in almost all catchments remained well above eutrophication thresholds, and because additional improvements will depend on decreasing diffuse nutrient sources, future gains may be much slower than initial rate of recovery. These findings demonstrate the value of citizen science initiatives in quantifying long-term and seasonal consequences of changes in land management, which are necessary to identify sustainable limits and predict recovery timeframes.
Using data from two independent UK citizen science schemes we investigate evidence for declines in abundance of Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus, a species that is particularly easy to record. One of the schemes (Nature's Calendar) involves phenological recording across various taxa and is open to the general public, the other (BirdTrack) targets more committed birdwatchers. Results show a very strong correlation between the two schemes and confirm their ability to detect the marked decline in the abundance of Common Cuckoo in the UK in the 21st century. Furthermore, the first scheme allows some tentative regional comparisons with data from a century earlier, and suggests regional differences in Common Cuckoo decline over the longer term.
Citizen science data are increasingly making valuable contributions to ecological studies. However, many citizen science surveys are also designed to encourage wide participation and therefore the participants have a range of natural history expertise, leading to variation and potentially bias in the data.
We assessed a recently proposed measure of observer expertise, calculated based on the average numbers of species recorded by observers. We investigated if this observer expertise score is associated with how often an observer reports any individual species. Species reporting rates increased monotonically with the observer's expertise score for 197 of 200 species, suggesting that this expertise score describes inter‐observer variation in the detectability of individual species.
Expertise scores were incorporated into single‐species occupancy models as a covariate, to explain inter‐observer variation in detectability. Including expertise as a detectability covariate led to improved model fit and improved predictive performance on validation data. The expertise score had a large effect on the estimated detectability, comparable in magnitude to the effect of the duration of the observation period.
Expertise scores were also included into single‐species occupancy models that estimated seasonal patterns in species occupancy and seasonal expertise effects. The addition of a seasonal effect of expertise led to improved model fit and increased predictive performance on validation data. The seasonal expertise accounted for bias that may be introduced by seasonal differences in the effect of expertise, caused by changes in the environment or species behaviour.
Measures of observer expertise included in models as a covariate can account for heterogeneity and bias introduced by variable expertise, although in this example the differences in estimated occupancy were small. This method of incorporating observer expertise can be used in any regression model of species occurrence, occupancy, abundance, or density to produce more reliable ecological inference and may be most important where citizen science schemes encourage wide participation. Overall, the results highlight the value of recording observer identity and other detectability covariates, to control for sources of bias associated with the observation process.
