Wetlands (DP IB Geography)
Revision Note
Pressure on Major Wetlands
Wetlands have the following characteristics, they:
Are areas of land which are permanently flooded
Can be man-made, inland or coastal
Are diverse and make up 6% of the world’s habitats
Types of wetland
Name of wetland | Description |
---|---|
Riverine | Located on floodplains |
Lacustrine | Located close to lakes |
Palustrine | Fens and peatlands |
Tidal | Coastal and caused by fluctuating tidal waves |
Marine | Coastal wetland which is formed near lagoons, estuaries and spits |
Threats to wetlands
The threats to wetlands include:
Clearance to make way for housing and industry
Global warming
Warmer temperatures, drought and evapotranspiration can lead to water loss
Wetlands are highly dependent on water levels
Wetlands can provide social, economic and environmental benefits:
More than 1 billion people depend on wetlands to make a living for example through fishing
Groundwater recharge
Shoreline stablisation
Storm protection
Flood mitigation
Wetlands can be used for:
Tourism
Peat
Wildlife resources
The Ramsar Convention
Examples of sustainable management of wetlands exist at varying scales due to the Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention was developed in Iran in 1971
Over 60 countries endorse the Ramsar Convention
The aim of the Ramsar Convention is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”
The convention requires signatories to do the following:
Designate international wetlands
Sustain their ecological character
Plan for wise use
Allocate certain areas as nature reserves
Over 500 Ramsar sites span 30 million hectares around the world
Case Study: Lake Kuyucuk
Türkiye became a party to the Ramsar Convention in 1994
Lake Kuyucuk is a wetland in Türkiye
A freshwater stream and spring-fed lake its area is 245 hectares
The wetland site was chosen to be Türkiye’s European Destination of Excellence in 2009
The wetland provides economic resources to local people
The habitat is home to over 230 species of bird
Located on the African-Eurasian migration routeway for birds
The government spent over $220,000 in creating Türkiye’s first bird island
Local villagers started their own non-governmental organisation for conservation and tourism because it was the only source of water for 3 villages
Türkiye’s government funded a visitor centre and guesthouse to increase tourism to the area
Threats to Lake Kuyucuk include:
The Lake has dried up twice in 2019, 2021 and 2023
The lake cannot be fed from other reservoirs in the region because they contain fish eggs which would mean migratory birds would not visit
Cereal production and agriculture is a source of income in the area which uses a considerable amount of water
Overgrazing by cattle has caused a disturbance for the birds
A report by Turkish Scientists in 2021 said that the lake dries up because of unregulated use of groundwater and illegal damming of streams
The conflict between local farmers and conservationists arose when the local government ordered the illegal dams to be pulled down and local farmers rebuilt them a few weeks later
Lack of snowfall to feed the lake
Future possibilities for Lake Kuyucuk are that the lake could dry up
Plans have been put in place by the Kars Governorship to demolish artificial ponds in the upper part of the lake in hope of restoring groundwater flows
It is hoped that more birds return to the area as shown by the return of coots, gray ducks and shelducks
A borehole has been drilled to feed the lake to limit the lake from drying up
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