Wetlands as Living Heritage: Community, Culture, and Climate Action

Wetlands, as defined by the Ramsar Convention, provide essential ecosystem services — climate regulation, flood control, water purification, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood security for millions of people worldwide.

Despite their value, wetlands face accelerating threats from climate change, pollution, land conversion, and the erosion of traditional management systems.

NEWS (Nature Environment & Wildlife Society) has been working for over 25 years to conserve wetland and coastal ecosystems through:

• Long-term mangrove rehabilitation and shoreline restoration

• Women-led, community-driven restoration initiatives enhancing biodiversity and carbon stocks

• Conservation of internationally important wetlands supporting migratory waterbirds

• Partnership with Living Lakes Network to lead and strengthen wetland governance, youth leadership, and citizen-based monitoring

This year’s theme —“Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage” — recognizes the deep connections between wetlands and the cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge systems of local communities worldwide.

NEWS’ approach is firmly rooted in this understanding. By working alongside indigenous and local communities, empowering women, valuing traditional ecological knowledge, and combining it with science-based conservation, NEWS continues to protect wetlands not only as ecosystems, but as living cultural landscapes.

On this World Wetlands Day 2026, we reaffirm our commitment to sustaining wetlands through community stewardship, cultural continuity, and collective climate action.