Wetlands (DP IB Geography)

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

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