2 research outputs found
A Classification System for Colombian Wetlands: an Essential Step Forward in Open Environmental Policy-Making
Knowledge about the distribution and diversity of wetlands has become an essential tool for environmental management and policy-making. Yet, while recent estimates indicate that 27% of the area of Colombia is covered by wetlands and despite a number of regional studies, information about the diversity of wetlands nationally is scarce. In response, we present a national wetland classification system that is based on an ecological approach, from the perspective of wetland scientists, and which builds upon the assumptions underlying the flood pulse concept and hydrogeomorphic approach. Thus, the approach and structure of the Brazilian wetland classification system are used, with geomorphological adjustments made according to Colombiaâs topography. The classification is hierarchical, multi-scale, functional, and organized according to four levels (system, macroregion, subsystem, and class), with the wetland diversity of Colombia represented nationally by 89 macrohabitats across marine-coastal, inland, and anthropogenic systems. The primary purpose of this classification is to provide integrated and organized information on the distribution and diversity of Colombian wetlands that will serve as a baseline for transparent environmental policy-making. © 2019, Society of Wetland Scientists
Ecosystem services of wetlands: pathfinder for a new paradigm
Ecosystem services are natural assets produced by the environment and utilized by humans, such as clean
air, water, food and materials and contributes to social and cultural well-being. This concept, arguably, has been
developed further in wetlands than any other ecosystem. Wetlands were historically important in producing the
extensive coal deposits of the Carboniferous period; key steps in human development took place in communities
occupying the wetland margins of rivers, lakes and the sea; and wetlands play a key role in the hydrological cycle
influencing floods and river droughts. In this paper we examine three pillars that support the wetland research
agenda: hydrology, wetland origins and development, and linkages to society. We investigate these through an
overview of the evolution of wetland science and assessment of the wide range of topics relating to ecosystem
services covered in this Special Issue. We explain the seminal change in how modern society values the benefits
of natural ecosystems and highlights the pathfinder role that wetland research has played in the paradigm shift