Sustainable Wetland Research Articles

Participatory Management Model for Sustainability of Wetlands: Structural Model Analysis

Participatory Management Model for Sustainability of Wetlands: Structural Model Analysis

Exploring Spatial Relationship between Restoration Suitability and Rivers for Sustainable Wetland Utilization.

Wetlands are important ecosystems for biodiversity preservation and environmental regulation. However, the integrity of wetland ecosystems has been seriously compromised and damaged due to the reckless and indiscriminate exploitation of wetland resources during economic development by human society. Hence, wetland restoration has now attracted wide attention. Understanding wetland restoration suitability and its relationship with river grade and river distance is an important step in further implementing wetland restoration and ensuring an orderly wetland development and utilization. In this study, wetland restoration suitability is evaluated combining natural and human factors. Taking its result as an important basis, the spatial distribution characteristics of different levels of wetland restoration suitability are discussed for the studied region; the percentage distribution of different levels of wetland restoration suitability is analyzed for 10 km long buffer zones of rivers of different grades, and the association between the distribution of different levels of wetland restoration suitability and the river distance (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 km) is also analyzed for different buffer zones of rivers in different grades. Our findings show that the spatial distribution of wetland restoration suitability is closely associated with the grade of rivers and the distance of the wetland patches from the river. The higher the river grade, the higher the percentage of the wetland with high restoration suitability within the same river distance. The percentage of wetlands with high restoration suitability has shown a notably decreasing trend as the river distance increases for the areas beside rivers of all grades, while the percentage of a wetland area with relatively high restoration suitability tends to increase as the river distance increases for the areas beside rivers of grade I and II and does not have a noticeable trend to change as the river distance changes for the area beside rivers of other grades. Results of this can provide technical support for wetland restoration suitability evaluation for plain areas, a spatial reference for wetland restoration prioritizing, and an orderly wetland development and utilization in future studies and planning.

Preferred Attributes for Sustainable Wetland Management in Mpologoma Catchment, Uganda: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Sustainable wetland management is a focus of many countries worldwide. These mainly use protection as a key policy directive for conservation. However, avoidance directives tend to disenfranchise local populations. Thus, such management is often resisted and rarely effective. Tailoring management strategies to user preferences allows conservation to support community livelihoods for sustainable development. This study employed a discrete choice experiment to determine the wetland management attributes preferred by residents of Mpologoma catchment as a prelude to developing a co-management system. Listed in descending order, attribute preferences were paddy farmers’ schemes, fish farming, education and research, protected wetland area, and recreation and tourism. Respondents’ characteristics influenced their choices. Older adults were more likely to support fish farming. In contrast, existing paddy farmers tended to resist such focuses and an increase in protected wetland area. Additionally, respondents with higher education were opposed to paddy farmers’ schemes, and the preference for education and research was positively influenced by respondents’ income. Respondents were willing to pay between $0.64 and $1.76 per household for each unit improvement in the preferred attribute. Our results underscore the role of DCEs in unlocking individuals’ attribute preferences, whose integration into co-management systems can be important for sustainable wetland conservation.

Assessing Wetland Degradation in a Growing Urban Area: Case of Nsooba in Kampala, Uganda

Increasing population and urbanization of most of the cities with their continuous socioeconomic development and experiences put pressure on the components of the environment that are essential for their sustainable development. This includes urban wetlands which are parts of the veritable resources for the sustenance of societal ecosystems. This study assesses the process of wetland degradation in Nsooba, Kampala through the identification of the current anthropological activities that encourage the wetland degradation and also examined the levels of the water quality in its pools during the dry and wet seasons. This was done through questionnaire administration and physicochemical analysis. The study identifies the prevalence of constructions activities in the wetland area which crippled the flow of its stream. The results of the physicochemical analysis of the water quality of the pools/channels depicted that the pH values of both the wet and dry seasons were within acceptable limits while the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) was above the acceptable limits during the wet seasons signifying moderate organic pollution. In the end, the study advocates the need for the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to develop a framework that will encourage the sustainability of the city wetlands. This includes enforcement procedures that will control and stop the destructive anthropogenic activities that pervade the wetlands in the city.

Wetlandscape (dis)connectivity and fragmentation in a large wetland (Haiderpur) in west Ganga plains, India

AbstractWetlands are dynamic ecosystems that require continuous monitoring and assessment of degradation status to design strategies for their sustainable management. While hydrology provides the primary functional control for the wetland ecosystem, the loss of landscape connectivity influences wetland degradation in a major way as it leads to fragmentation. This article aims to integrate hydrogeomorphic and ecological concepts for the assessment of degradation status and its causal factors for a large wetland in the western Ganga plains, India, the Haiderpur, using a wetlandscape approach. We have used a remote‐sensing‐based approach, which offers a powerful tool for assessing and linking cross‐scale structures, functions, and controls in a wetlandscape. The Haiderpur, a Ramsar site since December 2021, is an artificial wetland located on the right bank of the Ganga River wherein the inflows are controlled by a barrage constructed on the Ganga River apart from smaller tributaries flowing in from the north. A novel aspect of this work is the integration of river dynamics and its connectivity to the wetlandscape to understand the spatiotemporal variability in the waterspread area in the wetland. In this work, we have developed an integrated wetlandscape assessment approach by evaluating wetland's geomorphic and hydrological connectivity status for the period 1993–2019 (25 years) across three different spatial scales – regional, catchment, and wetland. We have highlighted the ecological implications of connectivity and patch dynamics for developing sustainable wetland management plans.

Inland wetlands in Africa: A review of their typologies and ecosystem services

Wetlands, as one of the most productive natural ecosystems globally, have important roles in Earth system functioning through supporting biodiversity, storing carbon, recharging groundwater and removing pollutants. They are also critical locations for providing ecosystem and environmental services and thus supporting human livelihoods, especially in Africa where inland wetlands are extensively used for agriculture and as water sources. Despite this, the Ramsar Convention classifications do not wholly describe the physical nature and properties of African inland wetlands, or the varied and interconnected ways in which different ecosystem and environmental services are manifested in them. This review critically discusses the different types and definitions of inland wetlands in Africa with particular reference to dambos, based on wetland geomorphological, hydrological and ecological properties, and then considers the entangled nature of their ecosystem services and the benefits provided to local communities. Considering these services in a more integrated way – and not as a tick-box exercise as per the Ramsar Convention – allows for a better understanding of human–environment relations in wetlands, with implications for wetland sustainability and more effective management practices.

Stakeholders, Institutional Challenges and the Valuation of Wetland Ecosystem Services in South Sudan: The Case of Machar Marshes and Sudd Wetlands.

A number of wetland ecosystem-services valuation studies around the world have been carried out, however, most of these studies have focused on wetlands in developed countries and few have been conducted in Africa, particularly in South Sudan. Thus, this study is conducted to value ecosystem services and identify the role and interests of stakeholders of the Machar Marshes and the Sudd wetlands for sustainable wetland management in the Nile basin. Market price and benefit transfer approaches have been applied to value the wetlands biodiversity and ecosystem services, by adjusting for income and price differences. In addition to environmental valuation methods, we conducted stakeholder analysis. Accordingly, Machar Marshes wetland provides an estimated per annum economic value of $200 million, of which the provisioning services contributed about $61 million, regulating services $132 million, and biodiversity services $7.35 million considering the 2015 price as a base year. Similarly, the Sudd wetland provides an estimated per annum economic value of 2.3 billion, of which regulating is about $1.2 billion, biodiversity $857 million, provisioning $209 million, and transportation service $293,400. The findings show that the ecosystem services from the wetlands have benefits beyond the local communities. Thus, to maintain and ensure sustainable wetlands ecosystem services, stakeholders should play a significant role to implement alternative wetland development options through managing the existing institutional challenges. Ecosystem-services assessment and wetland development options suffer from weak institutional capacity due to prolonged conflicts and instability and physical inaccessibility to critical natural resources in the wetlands.

Experimental warming reduces ecosystem resistance and resilience to severe flooding in a wetland.

Climate warming and extreme hydrological events are threatening the sustainability of wetlands across the globe. However, whether climate warming will amplify or diminish the impact of extreme flooding on wetland ecosystems is unknown. Here, we show that climate warming significantly reduced wetland resistance and resilience to a severe flooding event via a 6-year warming experiment. We first found that warming rapidly altered plant community structure by increasing the dominance of low-canopy species. Then, we showed that warming reduced the resistance and resilience of vegetation productivity to a 72-cm flooding event. Last, we detected slower postflooding carbon processes, such as gross ecosystem productivity, soil respiration, and soil methane emission, under the warming treatment. Our results demonstrate how severe flooding can destabilize wetland vegetation structure and ecosystem function under climate warming. These findings indicate an enhanced footprint of extreme hydrological events in wetland ecosystems in a warmer climate.

Valuing wetland conservation: A contingent valuation analysis among Iranian beneficiaries

Wetland ecosystems conservation is a critical environmental policy and practice challenge. Though policy protection mechanisms ostensibly establish a commitment to long-term protection, the level and types of wetland threats are growing. Management of sustainable wetland resources requires community commitments to protection amongst predominantly rural stakeholders that draw upon wetland ecosystem services for their livelihoods and is vital to forming a policy strategy. This empirical study uses contingent valuation methodology with rural residents around four key wetlands areas in the ecologically fragile Khuzestan province in Iran. We find that 65% of the residents are willing to pay an amount of personal income to protect wetland ecosystems. The estimated Logit model with 84% prediction accuracy showed the variables of education and job relationship with the wetland had a positive effect on the probability of price acceptance, and the variables of living costs and marital status had a negative effect on the probability of price acceptance. In total, the conservation value of wetlands is estimated at 103351.52 USD. Finally, we assess the policy-relevance of our findings towards community windfall payments, tax disbursements, community resource management schemes, public participation, and social outreach programs to improve social learning buy-in to long-term conservation practices.

Isolation of Nanocellulose from Aquatic Wetland Plant-Eleocharis dulcis

Eleocharis dulcis is a sustainable wetland material available in enormous quantities in Kalimantan, Indonesia. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of the acid hydrolysis method for the isolation of nanocellulose of E. dulcis. The isolation process started with delignification, followed by the removal of hemicellulose to produce cellulose. The hydrolysis was performed at 45 ºC for 60 and 120 min, respectively, using sulphuric acid. Furthermore the nanocellulose was characterized using particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffractions. The particle size analysis showed that the diameter of the nanocellulose was affected by hydrolysis time. In addition, the X-ray diffractions results showed that the crystallinity index of the nanocellulose was 71.99% and 71.61% for the acid hydrolysis time of 60 min and 120 min, respectively. This study also demonstrated that the aquatic wetland plant, E. dulcis has a good potential for nanocellulose production in Indonesia.

Wetland Change Mapping Using Machine Learning Algorithms, and Their Link with Climate Variation and Economic Growth: A Case Study of Guangling County, China

Wetlands are a distinctive terrestrial ecosystem that benefits living things, including people, in various ways. Sustainable wetland ecosystem resources are needed to protect the global environment. Wetlands in China have undergone positive and negative changes in response to several factors, but studies documenting their long-term dynamicity have been few, particularly in Guangling County. This study examines the change of wetlands area based on remotely sensed data while exploring trends associated with climate variations and economic growth in Guangling County, China. Analysis of remotely sensed imagery, mainly in hilly and nonhomogeneous environments is problematic, largely as a result of interference and their high spectral non-homogeneity. We conducted experiments using five classical machine learning algorithms based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and obtained the greatest robustness and accuracy using a Support Vector Machine (SVM)—Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel approach, with overall accuracy and kappa statistics ranging from 86% to 98.1% and from 0.789 to 0.960, respectively. Based on the SVM-RBF model’s outperformance of four other algorithms, we identified spatial distributions of wetland in the study area and associated change trends. We found that 45.71 km2 of wetland area was lost over the past 3.7 decades (January 1984–December 2020), or 81.82% of wetland area coverage. In this paper, we explore how factors such as county economic growth (GDP), humidity, and temperature variations are tightly linked with wetland change.

Modelling Dynamic Hydrological Connectivity in the Zoigê Area (China) Based on Multi-Temporal Surface Water Observation

The sustainability of wetlands is threatened by the past and present land use practices. Hydrological connectivity is one of the most important aspects to consider for wetland rehabilitation planning purposes. Circuit theory and connectivity indices can be used to model and assess hydrological connectivity. The aim of this study was to assess spatiotemporal variation in the hydrological connectivity of the Zoigê area from 2000–2019 using both methods. The study area contains a Ramsar wetland of international importance, namely the Sichuan Ruoergai Wetland National Nature Reserve. We used a global surface water observation product as the major input for both methods, and then analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics, in terms of important components and patches. We found that the overall connectivity has increased slightly in the last 20 years, while the probability of connection between patches of surface water has increased significantly. Important components and patches represent steppingstone habitat for the dispersal of organisms in the landscape. The main determinants of hydrological connectivity are mostly human oriented, predominantly a decrease in large livestock population size and population increase.

Villagers' Perception and Attitude Toward Wetland Values and Conservation in Vietnam: A Case Study of Xuan Thuy Ramsar National Park.

Perception and attitude toward wetland values and conservation are essential to the sustainable management and wise use of this resource. This study examined the attitudes of local communities towards the values and management of Xuan Thuy National Park (XTNP) in Vietnam. The study also explores factors affecting conservation attitudes in the study area. A survey was implemented to 677 households randomly selected in five communes adjacent to XTNP. In addition, focus group discussions, and interviews with selected key informants were conducted. The study shows that local villagers generally hold positive attitudes towards wetland conservation. However, awareness of the threats to wetlands and the national park rules are not high. People are willing to sacrifice part of their income to preserve wetlands for future generations. Age, length of residency, and schooling year are observed to be significantly impacting attitudes towards wetland conservation. It is critical to connect management agencies and people to propagate conservation regulations and XTNP zoning for sustainable wetland management and conservation. Social networks and the internet are potential vehicles for increasing understanding and connection.

Development of sustainable wetland management strategies by using the analytical hierarchy process and web‐based GIS: A case study from Turkey

AbstractThe aim of this study was to develop sustainable management strategies for the Akgöl Wetland in Turkey, which lacked a management plan, in an integrated manner via using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and web‐based geographic information systems. As such, it aimed to present the utility of AHP in wetland management studies. Water quality and soil analysis, field studies and remote sensing analyses were simultaneously conducted to define the prevailing characteristics and dynamics of the wetland. The results of all the studies conducted were compiled and analysed by a multi‐disciplinary team of experts, and eight outstanding criteria for wetland rehabilitation were determined. A convenient web‐based GIS application, accessible online and capable of handling queries, was developed as part of dissemination activity. This study, by developing a management and a monitoring methodology, forms a model for other wetlands suffering from changes in both quality and quantity, which is still a common problem experienced in the world today.

Estimating residents' willingness to pay for wetland conservation using contingent valuation: the case of Van Long Ramsar Protected Area, Vietnam

Abstract. Truong DD. 2021. Estimating residents' willingness to pay for wetland conservation using contingent valuation: the case of Van Long Ramsar Protected Area, Vietnam. Biodiversitas 22: 4784-4793. Willingness to pay (WTP) for wetland conservation is an important basis for designing market-based wetland protection strategies and sustainable wetland management. The main objective of this study is to estimate villagers' WTP for wetland conservation in Van Long Wetland Protected Area, Vietnam, and analyze factors influencing WTP. A questionnaire survey based on the dichotomous contingent valuation method (CVM) was conducted at seven communes surrounding Van Long Ramsar Protected Area (VLPA). The results showed that the local people in the studied area appreciate the roles of the wetland in preserving landscape values, supporting livelihoods, and transmitting values ??to future generations. The value of biodiversity conservation and the value of water filtration and regulation are perceived to a lesser extent in terms of the importance of conservation. Of the 384 respondents, 96% are WTP for wetland conservation at different levels. With the parametric model, the average value of WTP ranges from 300,000 to VND 328,000 VND /family/year. In the non-parametric model, the average of WTP is from 338,000 to 359,000 VND/family/year. The probability of environmental response' that willing to pay for conservation is closely related to their awareness, family income and payment amount. The results also showed optimistic points that the local people are willing to contribute to improving wetland quality. In a general sense, the results of this study make good contributions to the literature related to WTP for wetland conservation in developing countries.

Mitigating Spatial Conflict of Land Use for Sustainable Wetlands Landscape in Li-Xia-River Region of Central Jiangsu, China

Li-Xia-river Wetlands make up the biggest freshwater marsh in East China. Over the last decades, social and economic developments have dramatically altered the natural wetlands landscape. Mitigating land use conflict is beneficial to protect wetlands, maintain ecosystem services, and coordinate local socioeconomic development. This study employed multi-source data and GIS-based approaches to construct a composite index model with the purpose of quantitatively evaluating the intensity of land use conflict in Li-Xia-river Wetlands from 1978 to 2018. The results showed that the percentage of the wetlands’ area declined from 20.3% to 15.6%, with an overall reduction rate of 23.2%. The mean index of land use conflict increased from 0.15 to 0.35, which suggests that the conflict intensity changed from “no conflict” to “mild conflict.” The number of severe conflict units increased by about 25 times. A conspicuous spatial variation of land use conflict was observed across different periods, although taking land for agricultural activities was the overriding reason for wetlands reduction. However, in recent years, urban sprawl has posed the greatest threat to Li-Xia-river Wetlands. Coordinating land use conflict and formulating a practical strategy are the initial imperative steps to mitigate the threat to wetlands.

The fate of urban wetlands in Kumasi: An analysis of customary governance and spatio-temporal changes

This study uses the city of Kumasi to explore two burning issues in urban Africa: a. implications of public and customary land governance for wetland sustainability; and b. depletion of urban wetlands. Officials of state and customary institutions were interviewed for in-depth information on the politics around wetlands management; while changes in land use and land cover (LULC) were tracked using GIS techniques. The study reveals 39% loss of wetlands between 1986 and 2019 to residential, commercial and industrial uses. This is explained by the dual positions of customary and state institutions in the management of wetlands; and the various conflicting outcomes their interplay produce. The study proposes functional collaboration between customary and state institutions in the management of urban wetlands.

Close to the Madding Crowd: Waterbird Responses to Land Use Conversion in and Around a Mediterranean Urban Wetland

Investigating how Mediterranean wetlands respond to adjacent land use conversion, is an important first step in mitigating the impact of human encroachment and other environmental stressors. We monitored the composition and structure of waterbird assemblages, in a Mediterranean urban marsh, subjected to severe anthropogenic pressures. Remote sensing indicated that in the last two decades Boussedra Pond was subjected to landfill, resulting in a substantial reduction (~ 50 %) of the marsh, while due to a lack of urban planning urban built-up and agriculture areas expanded considerably in its surroundings. This precipitous reduction of the size of this urban pond threatens the diversity of its resident waterbirds which include the globally Endangered (EN) White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala, the Near-Threatened (NT) Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, and many other staging and wintering migratory species. The long-term study suggested that breeding waterbirds species responded differentially to the loss and degradation of the marsh, as highlighted by the apparent resilience of the synanthropic Moorhen Gallinula chloropus and the disappearance of several breeding marsh specialists, such as the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus and the Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus. The study also points out the need for both a coordinated cross-sectorial land use planning and an immediate, affordable and sustainable wetland conservation action.

Sustainability of Wetlands in the Eyes of the New Generation of Environmental Engineering Students

This research paper investigates the general understanding and skills of young third-year environmental engineering students concerning the criteria for monitoring wetlands. Students were asked to describe approaches, data, and final solutions to identify and/or eliminate wetland odor. Over half of the students (55%) did not consider the “identification” strategy by which to determine the source of unexpected odors. The rest gave answers focused on “restoration” (24%) and “prevention” (15%) strategies, while 6% of the answers were unrelated. In fact, without knowing the causes and without thinking about the necessity/importance of visiting/surveying the site, students came up with a priori solutions. In their mind, the immediate cause of the odor could be a disturbed or unbalanced distribution/composition of ions, salts, or microbes in the water. Indeed, most data types (71%) were those related to “water”. As the final solution, 50% of responses considered “physical” followed by “legal and planning” solutions (32%). Each factor, including “Chemical” and “Biological”, constituted 9% of the answers. This research highlights engineering students’ communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities by contemplating class activities that simulate real-world situations. The research presumes that these engineering student cohorts represent typical student communities worldwide. Such findings contribute to policymaking in the engineering education system on a larger scale.

Dynamics of river flows towards sustaining floodplain wetland fisheries under climate change: A case study

Abstract Wetlands play an important ecological role by providing shelter and habitat for diverse fish species, migratory birds, macrophytes and other aquatic organisms. Hydrological connectivity with the main river channel has a critical role in fish diversity and production in floodplain wetland. The present study showed the seasonal hydrological alteration on fish species distribution in Ansupa wetland, connected with tropical river Mahanadi, India. The river discharge showed a variation from 4549 cusec during lean season (April) to 204716 cusec during monsoon (August). It has been recorded that water flows/discharge above 200000 cusec only, inundate the wetland resulting in exchange of free flows of fish species and nutrients. The study period for the fish species diversity was undertaken during 2017-18. A total of 46 fish species were observed under the orders Cypriniformes (18), Perciformes (12), Siluriformes (7), Synbranchiformes (2), Cyprinodontiformes (1), Clupeiformes (1), Beloniformes (1), Osteoglossiformes (1), Mugiliformes (1), Anguilliformes (1) and Tetraodontiformes (1). According to the conservation status of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, four species Parambassis lala, Ompok bimaculatus, and Anguilla bengalensis are in the category of Near Threatened. Analysis showed that taxonomic distinctness is more during winter than the monsoon and pre-monsoon, indicating monsoon could play a significant role in the fish species recruitment through river connectivity. Climatic data was analysed for a period of 34 years and indicated that an increment of 0.20C in water temperature and average increase of 129mm rainfall at the study site. This slight increase in rainfall over the years could be one of the factors responsible for the fish recruitment in the Ansupa wetland, through river connectivity underlining the importance of flood for wetland fisheries recruitment and sustainability.