The vital importance of protecting, conserving and restoring wetlands - José Carlos Ferreira's opinion

February 2, 2025, marked World Wetlands Day as a way of promoting the sustainable management of these ecosystems. To commemorate the date, MARE researcher José Carlos Ferreira shared his opinion with Ambiente Magazine.

Wetlands are essential ecosystems for life, providing fundamental services for biodiversity and the economy. However, they continue to face growing threats due to human action, through disordered land use and climate change. In this context, their preservation and recovery are becoming urgent and are essential to guarantee a sustainable future.

These ecosystems are made up of marshes, ponds, lagoons, estuaries, lagoon systems and salt marshes, which in Portugal include the Tagus and Sado Estuaries, the Ria de Aveiro and Ria Formosa, the Sete Cidades Lagoon, and many others.
According to José Carlos Ferreira, these sites provide vital services: “They regulate water regimes, reducing the risk of flooding and contributing to groundwater recharge. They act as natural filters, removing pollutants and improving water quality. They are also carbon sinks, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

For the researcher, “Their contribution is also decisive in climate adaptation, as they protect coastal areas from erosion and the impact of storms, minimizing the effects of oceanic overtopping and flooding. They are also essential habitats for a vast diversity of species, including migratory birds, fish and amphibians. Economically, they support fundamental activities such as fishing, aquaculture, tourism and the production of salt and rice. In addition, they have significant cultural and scientific value, being the site of research and recreational activities.”

Despite their great importance, wetlands are extremely threatened. “The lack of ecologically-based land use planning, urbanization and agricultural expansion have led to their drainage and destruction. Pollution from industries, sewage and agricultural products compromises their ecological quality. The over-exploitation of water resources has dried up many of these ecosystems, compromising the life that depends on them,” the researcher says.

In addition, this situation is increasingly aggravated by climate change, with droughts intensifying, the average sea level rising and the frequency of storms increasing.

What can we do? For José Carlos Ferreira, the answer lies in “implementing ecological restoration programs to recover degraded ecosystems; strengthening environmental monitoring to prevent the destruction and pollution of wetlands; promoting the sustainable use of resources, ensuring that economic activities do not compromise the balance of these habitats and, lastly and perhaps most importantly, increasing environmental literacy and developing processes of active community involvement with a view to increasing knowledge and consequently the active protection of wetlands.”

“Protecting wetlands means protecting our future. After all, only by knowing can we value, and only by valuing can we truly protect,” concludes the researcher.