The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) has launched a major new campaign calling for the creation of 100,000 hectares of healthy wetlands in the UK to help combat the climate, nature and wellbeing crisis.

WWT is urging people to get behind the call by signing a pledge to press the UK government to prioritise and invest in more wetlands.

Backed by WWT president Kate Humble, as well as actor Sir Mark Rylance, the Wetlands Can! campaign comes as new online research commissioned by WWT shows more than three quarters (77%) of the British public think that there should be more investment in natural solutions to tackle the climate emergency.

The YouGov polling also showed people thought taking effective action against climate change was now most important for the future (39%), in comparison to tackling the coronavirus pandemic (31%) or ensuring economic growth (23%).

The results validate the recent Climate Change Committee’s Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk report, which highlights that government needs to prioritise and invest more in natural solutions to tackle climate change. The committee cited healthy wetlands, alongside woodlands, as key to helping government reach its net zero targets by 2050.

Wetlands such as peatlands and saltmarshes store more carbon, more quickly, than all world’s forests combined

Wetlands are the most effective carbon sinks on the planet, locking away huge amounts of carbon to mitigate climate change. Wetlands such as peatlands and saltmarshes store more carbon, more quickly, than all the world’s forests combined.

Wetlands also help deal with the effects of climate change by increasing biodiversity and protecting communities from flooding. On top of that, they clean water to bring life back to degraded rivers, lakes and ponds, and help improve our mental health.

The YouGov polling also shows that around 60% of the public want to do more personally to fight climate change (58%) and protect nature and wildlife (61%) in their local areas.

In response, the WWT campaign is encouraging people to get practical and help make up for the almost 50% of ponds that have been lost in the UK in the twentieth century by getting outside this summer and creating mini-wetlands, including ponds and drainpipe gardens, in their backyards and communities.

Photo : Steart Marshes is the first of WWT's working wetlands

Survey results clearly showed how many people want to see more investment in nature to fight climate change

WWT’s Director of Conservation, Dr James Robinson, said the survey results clearly showed how many people want to see more investment in nature to fight climate change. He commented:

If the Covid crisis has taught us one thing, it’s that we can’t go back to how things were before.”  “We need to get serious now about fighting the climate emergency and, as wetlands are particularly fast and cost-effective at absorbing carbon, they need to be an essential part of that fight.

"Yet they’re fast disappearing with 90% of wetlands lost in England alone. Globally, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. This is why WWT is today launching the Wetlands Can! campaign – we think wetlands should be as much a part of the conversation about tackling climate change as trees and woodlands.

"We urge the UK government to get behind WWT’s Wetlands Can! campaign by providing the information, plans and funding needed to create 100,000 hectares of wetlands to build a ‘blue recovery’ from the current climate, nature and wellbeing crises.”

Wetlands Can! campaign gives us simple but effective way to begin doing things differently

The campaign is also backed by one of the world’s leading Shakespearean actors Sir Mark Rylance, a keen environmentalist who starred in the BFG, Wolf Hall and more recently a Radio 4 drama about wetlands. He said:

“Climate change, biodiversity loss, the deteriorating wellbeing of ourselves as a species - these things are really serious problems and cause great anxiety but don’t you think this pandemic has given us the chance to start again? “

"I believe that the Wetlands Can! campaign gives us a simple but effective way to begin doing things differently. It’s calling for a new blue recovery through creating large amounts of healthy wetland nature in the UK to help heal our relationship with nature, each other and our planet.

“When we lost the vast majority of our wetlands in this country to development, agriculture and other pressures, it wasn’t just nature and wildlife that disappeared but fantastic carbon stores, pollution busters, flood preventers and places to restore our souls. Let’s get this back.”

Wetlands occur where water meets land. They include, marshes, rivers and streams, lakes, estuaries, ponds, peatlands and wet woodlands. 100,000 hectares is around three time the size of the Isle of Wight or 800,000 Olympic sized swimming pools. The total land area of the UK amounts to over 24 million hectares.

Campaign supporter Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural England, the government's adviser for the natural environment in England, said:

“Humankind’s future lies not in the endless degradation of the natural world, but in its restoration, including for the vital services and benefits provided by different kinds of wetlands. From our wonderful upland blanket bogs to the beautiful floodplain meadows that still border some of our rivers, our wetlands catch carbon, purify water, reduce flooding, inspire the human spirit and host a vast variety of wildlife. They are a vital asset for society and now is the moment to plan for their protection, recovery and expansion.

Click here to join WWT’s urgent pledge to create 100,000 hectares of healthy wetlands around the UK