Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
2008-07-22 China Times [Yang Mingwei/Comprehensive Foreign Report on the 21st]
Ecologists attending the "International Wetlands Conference" in Brazil have stated that wetlands around the world are under threat from human development, desiccation, and climate change. If these wetlands are damaged, they could release a "carbon bomb," exacerbating global warming.
The conference, convened by the International Ecological Society (INTECOL), was specifically held in Cuiabá, a city on the edge of Brazil's vast Pantanal wetlands. Over 700 scientists from 28 countries gathered to discuss how to protect this natural environment.
Wetlands Contain One-Fifth of the World's Carbon
Scientists pointed out that global wetlands hold approximately 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, accounting for one-fifth of the Earth's total carbon, equivalent to the total amount of carbon currently in the atmosphere. They are concerned that these wetlands are continuously releasing carbon into the atmosphere due to evaporation caused by rising global temperatures and human destruction, leading to an increase in greenhouse gases.
Paulo Teixeira, coordinator of the Pantanal Regional Environmental Program, said that if all the wetlands worldwide released the carbon they hold, it would create a powerful greenhouse effect, intensifying climate warming. He said, "We can call it a 'carbon bomb,' and it would be a very tricky situation."
Very Important for the Health of the Earth
The so-called "wetlands" are not just waterlogged areas but also include swamps, peat bogs, river deltas, mangroves, tundras, lagoons, and river floodplains. These terrains cover about 6% of the Earth's land area and store 20% of the Earth's carbon. Twenty-five percent of the world's food comes from wetlands, which also have functions such as purifying water, replenishing underground aquifers, and acting as buffers for coastal storms.
In the past, people often believed that wetlands hindered the development of civilization. Over the past century, about 60% of the world's wetlands have been destroyed, with most being drained and turned into agricultural land. Other factors such as pollution, dam and canal construction, groundwater extraction, urban development, and peat mining have further damaged wetlands.
Conrad Osterwalder, one of the conference hosts and Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, said that in the past, people often viewed wetlands as a problem that needed to be solved, which was unwise. In fact, wetlands are very important for the health of the Earth.
Functions of Water Storage and Regulation
Teixeira also pointed out that while many people know the importance of protecting rainforests, they have a poor impression of wetlands because they do not understand the environmental contributions of wetlands. Professor Junk from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany said that wetlands are like sponges, and many people underestimate their importance as water sources, reservoirs, and regulators.
Attending scientists stated that the impact of climate change on wetlands so far is minor compared to human destruction. Like other environmental issues, maintaining existing wetlands is definitely cheaper and easier than restoring them later.
As the Earth warms, the water in wetlands may evaporate, and rising sea levels may alter the salinity of wetlands or even completely submerge them.
Restoring Wetlands is Simple and Effective Against Warming
Even so, rather than using artificial flood control measures to deal with the larger-scale and more frequent floods and storms brought by global warming, restoring wetlands would be more effective.
Eugene Turner, a scientist from Louisiana State University in the United States, said that because the greenhouse effect will make the climate in high-latitude regions more extreme, it will pose a threat to wetlands in the Earth's northern regions, where the permafrost contains billions of tons of carbon.Turner stated that while humans may not be able to prevent the permafrost in the Arctic Circle from melting and releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere within the next 20 years, wetlands near the equator, such as those in Louisiana, should be restored.
Wetland Destruction Risks Releasing Climate 'Carbon Bomb'
Ecologists attending the "International Wetlands Conference" in Brazil have stated that wetlands around the world are under threat from human development, desiccation, and climate change. If these wetlands are damaged, they could release a "carbon bomb," exacerbating global warming.
The conference, convened by the International Ecological Society (INTECOL), was specifically held in Cuiabá, a city on the edge of Brazil's vast Pantanal wetlands. Over 700 scientists from 28 countries gathered to discuss how to protect this natural environment.
Wetlands Contain One-Fifth of the World's Carbon
Scientists pointed out that global wetlands hold approximately 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, accounting for one-fifth of the Earth's total carbon, equivalent to the total amount of carbon currently in the atmosphere. They are concerned that these wetlands are continuously releasing carbon into the atmosphere due to evaporation caused by rising global temperatures and human destruction, leading to an increase in greenhouse gases.
Paulo Teixeira, coordinator of the Pantanal Regional Environmental Program, said that if all the wetlands worldwide released the carbon they hold, it would create a powerful greenhouse effect, intensifying climate warming. He said, "We can call it a 'carbon bomb,' and it would be a very tricky situation."
Very Important for the Health of the Earth
The so-called "wetlands" are not just waterlogged areas but also include swamps, peat bogs, river deltas, mangroves, tundras, lagoons, and river floodplains. These terrains cover about 6% of the Earth's land area and store 20% of the Earth's carbon. Twenty-five percent of the world's food comes from wetlands, which also have functions such as purifying water, replenishing underground aquifers, and acting as buffers for coastal storms.
In the past, people often believed that wetlands hindered the development of civilization. Over the past century, about 60% of the world's wetlands have been destroyed, with most being drained and turned into agricultural land. Other factors such as pollution, dam and canal construction, groundwater extraction, urban development, and peat mining have further damaged wetlands.
Conrad Osterwalder, one of the conference hosts and Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, said that in the past, people often viewed wetlands as a problem that needed to be solved, which was unwise. In fact, wetlands are very important for the health of the Earth.
Functions of Water Storage and Regulation
Teixeira also pointed out that while many people know the importance of protecting rainforests, they have a poor impression of wetlands because they do not understand the environmental contributions of wetlands. Professor Junk from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany said that wetlands are like sponges, and many people underestimate their importance as water sources, reservoirs, and regulators.
Attending scientists stated that the impact of climate change on wetlands so far is minor compared to human destruction. Like other environmental issues, maintaining existing wetlands is definitely cheaper and easier than restoring them later.
As the Earth warms, the water in wetlands may evaporate, and rising sea levels may alter the salinity of wetlands or even completely submerge them.
Restoring Wetlands is Simple and Effective Against Warming
Even so, rather than using artificial flood control measures to deal with the larger-scale and more frequent floods and storms brought by global warming, restoring wetlands would be more effective.
Eugene Turner, a scientist from Louisiana State University in the United States, said that because the greenhouse effect will make the climate in high-latitude regions more extreme, it will pose a threat to wetlands in the Earth's northern regions, where the permafrost contains billions of tons of carbon.Turner stated that while humans may not be able to prevent the permafrost in the Arctic Circle from melting and releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere within the next 20 years, wetlands near the equator, such as those in Louisiana, should be restored.