On World Wetlands Day, we honour the heritage of wetlands and respect the traditional knowledge that guides conservation, resilience, and coexistence with nature. Women in biodiversity.
Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. They act as living libraries of memory, practice, and wisdom. They hold cultural heritage nurtured for generations by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs and LCs). Stories, rituals, and day-to-day care have helped protect these landscapes by passing down this knowledge for generations.
The degradation of wetlands impacts human rights to a healthy environment, especially for IPs and LCs whose cultural identities, traditional knowledge systems, and livelihoods are intricately tied to these ecosystems.
Wetlands are sacred, life-sustaining, a timeless legacy, and ours to protect.
