EVSP628 Week 2 Discussion.docx - Part I: A Global...

Part I:
A Global Assessment of Inland Wetland Conservations Status
by Reis et al. (2017) is exactly what the title implies. This
article from the scientific journal, BioScience , takes a look at
wetland protections across the globe. By reviewing previous
literature, summarizing the differing levels on 'protection', and
receiving data from satellites that have captured spatial
surface-water coverage through imagery, this article is a
multi-disciplinary approach to a very difficult issue to
wrangle.
Throughout the article several, rather depressing, statistics
standout:
 The long-term loss of natural wetlands is reported to be
54-57%
 Some regions of the world have reported up to 90%
natural wetland loss
 Studies suggest that inland wetlands declined by 69-75%
in the 20th century
 Not including Antarctica, 6.1% of the Earth's land surface
consists of seasonal inland wetlands but 88.7% are
unprotected by international agreement standards.