World's largest wetland disappearing

World's largest wetland is located in Brazil's Pantanal region but if advanced farms and industries continue their development in this nature's paradise this giant wetland (the size of England) could become nothing more than a fond memory. Economic progress has once again showed that it has devastating effect on environment causing massive environmental damage. This time on the economic progress is in form of increased export of beef, iron and soy that have put environmental issue in this Brazil's region to side because economy is as always the one that matters the most.

Pantanal wetland is not only huge fresh water reserve but also a real biodiversity heaven with many different animal and plant species, most known are probably the majestic jaguars and predatory caymans. This is really on the world's richest faunas and a place of immense beauty that needs to be preserved in all of its wild beauty.

Economic progress in Brazil's Pantanal region is causing massive environmental damage to Pantanal wetland, the largest wetland in the world.

But farms, industry and deforestation are working together in one joined action that could eliminate all the beauty and wildness from this region. Government is doing very little to stop this bad behavior mostly because Brazil's beef exports have more than tripled in five years giving huge profits to Brazil's economy.

Environmental groups have found that there are already signs of runoff water from nearby farms that is altering the ecosystem's sensitive balance. Fertilizers in water are causing earlier trees flower and birds breed, and things could easy turn into catastrophe in the next couple of years. Especially since many farmers seek for expansion of their farms in order to achieve even bigger profits. Government should act before it is too late.

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• Wetlands need to be preserved
• Wetlands are very important for both nature and people

Wetlands are very important for both nature and people

If we are to use most simple definition then perfect definition for wetland would be area with much moisture in the soil, such as swamp, marsh or bog. Wetlands are usually extremely beautiful pieces of nature with extremely rich biodiversity. Here are homes of many different ecosystems, for instance for hundreds of species of waterfowl, many other birds, fish, mammals, insects, and of course plants. Wetlands are very often homes of home endemic animal and plant species that can't be found nowhere else. But their role isn't only in providing breeding, nesting and feeding grounds to variety of different species. Wetlands are also important because of many other abilities. For instance wetlands slow the flow of surface water therefore reducing the impact of flooding, protect subsurface water resources, and also recharging ground water supplies, act as erosion controllers by serving as a sedimentation area, and they can even store greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, there slowing impact of global warming.

Wetlands are extremely important because of their multi-functionality

With so many different functions it is more than obvious that wetlands are of the highest importance, and that we need to do our best to protect and recover wetlands. Some data suggests that by 1993 half the world wetlands had been drained (Wikipedia). Good news is that there are many countries that have in the meantime understood the importance that wetlands have not only to nature but for people as well. United States have also issued some complex regulations that have been lay down in order to protect remaining wetland areas, though it has to be said that during George Bush there hasn't been a lot of work done to further strengthen protection of wetlands. Though George Bush promised how under his watch there would be “no net loss” of wetlands, once elections were over he hasn't only forgot about wetlands, but of environment and ecology in general. Hopefully Obama's environmental plan would include wetlands too because their multi-functionality makes them extremely important.

Wetlands need to be preserved

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for some periods of time during the year, including during the growing season
Wetlands such as swamps, mangroves, marshes cover about 6 % of the Earth's land surface. Wetlands ply important role by storing up to 20 percent of terrestrial carbon in the form of slowly decaying organic matter, containing about 771 billion tons of greenhouses gases - carbon dioxide and methane- which is amount similar to the one already in the atmosphere.

Just like the forests, wetlands are almost equally important in fight against climate change and need to be preserved. However this will not be easy since 60 percent of wetlands around the world have been destroyed in the past century in order to provide more space for farming. If this negative trend continues massive amounts of carbon will be released into the atmosphere which will increase concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and worsen the climate change consequences.

Scientists agree that wetlands preservation is vital for our planet's health but they are also aware that finding the right solution for their preservation will be a difficult task because as the Earth population grows there also grows the need for more farms which often results in man's destruction of wetlands.

Not only are wetlands important in storing up the carbon but also as professor Wolfgang Junk of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology said "Wetlands act as sponges and their role as sources, reservoirs and regulators of water is largely underappreciated by many farmers and others who rely on steady water supplies."

Therefore we definitely need to preserve our existing wetlands but the real question is how?