February 2, 2026 – On World Wetlands Day, Wetlands International unveiled its comprehensive and ambitious strategy for the next decade, marking a pivotal moment for global efforts aimed at the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of the world’s vital wetland ecosystems. Titled "Wetlands for Life (2026-35)," the new approach is designed to catalyze transformative change, benefiting people, nature, and the climate. The organization emphasizes that this strategy is not merely a set of goals but a blueprint for a new era of accelerated wetland action, built upon three decades of experience and a deep understanding of local realities.
The launch underscores the critical role wetlands play in underpinning human societies and economies. These diverse ecosystems, ranging from rivers, lakes, and coral reefs to lagoons, marshes, mangroves, ponds, and peatlands, are indispensable for addressing contemporary global challenges. However, they face unprecedented threats, with alarming rates of drainage, damming, dredging, depletion, and degradation. Wetlands International warns that this ongoing destruction constitutes not only an environmental crisis but an existential one, necessitating urgent and scaled-up solutions.
A New Strategic Imperative: "Wetlands for Life (2026-35)"
The "Wetlands for Life (2026-35)" strategy outlines Wetlands International’s roadmap to contribute to this essential transformation. It details a series of strategic approaches and ambitious goals intended to accelerate the pace of wetland action worldwide. The strategy builds upon the organization’s established track record as a locally led, global network, fostering close collaboration with communities, partners, corporations, and governments. A core tenet of this approach is the continued co-creation of solutions and the delivery of tangible wetland impact at the site level.
By 2035, Wetlands International, in partnership with its extensive network, aims to achieve significant direct impacts. While specific quantitative targets for these direct impacts were not detailed in the initial announcement, the organization stressed that these on-the-ground achievements will serve as crucial catalysts for broader systemic change. These site-level successes are intended to demonstrate viable solutions that can inform and trigger the necessary shifts in policies, business practices, and financial mechanisms required to scale up wetland conservation and restoration globally.
Driving Systemic Change: Beyond Site-Level Impact
Coenraad Krijger, CEO of Wetlands International, articulated the organization’s evolving role, stating, "While we continue to deliver significant wetland impact at site level, our primary added value is not as an implementing agency but as a driver of systemic change at national, landscape, and global levels." This strategic pivot emphasizes the organization’s commitment to influencing the broader systems that govern wetland health.
Under the new strategy, every initiative undertaken by Wetlands International will be geared towards triggering this systemic transformation. The organization plans to collaborate with a diverse array of stakeholders, including communities, cities, corporations, and national governments, to reshape policies, business models, and financial systems that currently contribute to wetland degradation. By 2035, Wetlands International, in collaboration with its partners, aims to achieve systemic contributions that will fundamentally alter the trajectory of wetland conservation.
Four Pillars of Action: A Multifaceted Approach
To achieve its ambitious objectives, Wetlands International will concentrate its efforts on four key strategic pillars:
- Demonstrating Impact: Through interventions at site and landscape levels, the organization will showcase the tangible benefits of healthy wetlands and effective management practices.
- Leading Through Knowledge: Wetlands International will continue to generate and disseminate critical knowledge, research, and best practices to inform policy and action.
- Creating a Movement: The strategy aims to foster a broader, more engaged global movement for wetlands, mobilizing diverse actors and increasing public awareness and support.
- Leveraging Systemic Change: This pillar focuses on influencing policy, business, and finance to create an enabling environment for wetland protection and restoration at scale.
Deepening Engagement in Flagship Landscapes
While continuing its work across various wetland types globally, including rivers, lakes, peatlands, and coastal wetlands, Wetlands International will intensify its focus on 12 flagship landscapes. These landscapes, strategically located across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, will serve as living laboratories for integrated wetland management. By 2035, the goal is to ensure that all these landscapes are under holistic management, incorporating innovative financing mechanisms and regenerative land-use practices. This approach aims to demonstrate conclusively that sustainable and prosperous wetland-based societies and economies are achievable, bridging the gap between on-the-ground action and transformative policy and practice changes.
Prioritizing Diverse Wetland Ecosystems
The strategy highlights a focused approach to various critical wetland types:
- Freshwater and Inland Wetlands: Including rivers, floodplains, lakes, marshes, and inland deltas, these ecosystems are crucial for water provision, food security, fisheries, and transportation. They also serve as vital ecological corridors and biodiversity hotspots.
- Peatlands: Recognized for their immense ecological significance, peatlands store approximately 30% of terrestrial carbon and act as natural sponges. Their continued degradation, often through draining and conversion, contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions (estimated at 5% of global GHG emissions), exacerbates wildfires, and leads to loss of water resources, biodiversity, and resilience.
- Coastal Wetlands: Mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass beds are vital for buffering coastal communities and cities, supporting agriculture and fisheries, and harboring rich biodiversity. Wetlands International aims to address their ongoing loss due to urbanization, unsustainable infrastructure development, and the impacts of rising sea levels.
Global Initiatives and Key Connectors
Wetlands International will continue to play a central role in three significant voluntary global initiatives: the Freshwater Challenge, the Mangrove Breakthrough, and the Peatland Breakthrough. These initiatives serve as crucial platforms for sharing solutions, promoting best practices, and delivering transformative impact for wetlands worldwide.
Furthermore, the strategy will pay specific attention to migratory waterbirds and their flyways, as well as migratory fish and their swimways. These species are recognized as key connectors within ecosystems, indicators of wetland health, and are facing increasing pressures that threaten their survival and the integrity of the ecosystems they inhabit.
Community and Equity at the Forefront
Consistent with its long-standing principles, Wetlands International will continue to prioritize working with and securing benefits for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Vulnerable groups, including women and youth, will remain central to all its endeavors. The development of the "Wetlands for Life" strategy itself adhered to this commitment, involving extensive consultation with partners, members, donors, and colleagues across the global network, ensuring a shared vision and commitment to action.
The Decisive Decade Ahead
The strategy is underpinned by the fundamental belief that a successful scaling up of efforts to safeguard and restore wetlands will represent a monumental leap towards stabilizing the global climate, restoring biodiversity, enhancing water and food security, strengthening peace and security, and building more resilient societies and economies.
The coming decade is deemed "decisive" by Wetlands International. The organization believes its new strategy positions it effectively to lead a new era of collaborative wetland action, working with partners to secure and restore the world’s invaluable wetlands. The overarching message is one of collective responsibility and the potential for significant positive change: "Together – we can rise to the challenge."