Circular Country | Conscious Living

Over the past 30 years, the discussion on climate change has taken center stage, focusing on rising temperatures and the need to protect ecosystems that can contribute to mitigating them or helping communities adapt to their effects.

Since the last decade, wetlands have begun to be seen as green infrastructure on which millions of people around the world depend, and as a real and important system to counteract the climate scenario we are experiencing. According to the 2019 Ramsar Convention report, 35% of wetlands have disappeared since 1970. The rate of loss of these ecosystems is three times greater than that of, for example, forests. One reason for this could be that, despite wetlands representing 12.1 million square kilometers on the planet, only 18% of them are protected.

This is why the Urban Wetlands Law, enacted on January 23, 2020, came at a crucial time. Some would say late, but at least we can begin to discuss and establish a clear policy regarding restrictions and conservation for wetlands located within urban areas. The pressure from public infrastructure, real estate projects, and land-use changes has generated negative impacts, diminishing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services.

Restricting activities that are harmful to urban wetlands is an important step, but we believe the greatest opportunity the law provides is to begin rethinking urban settlements and the way cities are planned based on their natural attributes. In this sense, all stakeholders in the territory, including real estate developers and local governments, public infrastructure managers, the community, and others, must make their natural environment visible, including wetlands, as a fundamental asset for the development and harmonious subsistence of cities. It’s not just about admiring their beauty and the biodiversity that lives within them, but also prioritizing them as green infrastructure that helps us adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Excessive intervention that fails to take into account the value of these ecosystems as green infrastructure exposes the area’s inhabitants to potential disasters, as wetlands are capable of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, acting as natural storm surge barriers, absorbing excess water during extreme rainfall events, supplying fresh water, and allowing groundwater to recharge.

Two years after the enactment of Law 21.202 on the protection of Urban Wetlands, we must shift our focus to planning and building cities based on their ecosystems and natural attributes. A conscious way of living, respectful of the land, and in balance with our entire environment is urgent and necessary.

Column by Diego Urrejola, executive director of the Cosmos Foundation.