Earth’s kidneys: Experts urge swift action as wetlands continue to vanish
Ondiri Wetland in Kikuyu, Kiambu County.
What you need to know:
- Peatlands, a type of wetland, alone hold about twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined.
Experts are now sounding the alarm about the rapid disappearance of wetlands, emphasising their vital role in biodiversity, water regulation, and climate change mitigation
They have urged immediate action to protect and restore these vital yet often overlooked landscapes before it’s too late.
“Wetlands are the earth’s kidneys, yet their role as nature’s filters and frontline defenders, especially in the battle against climate change, remain largely underappreciated,” observed Coenraad Krijger, CEO of Wetlands International.
He added: “Wetlands are climate superheroes. They are the largest storage of carbon on land. Over 30 per cent of global terrestrial carbon is stored in wetlands — even more than forests, and yet they are overlooked in international policy debates.
“These ecosystems are also crucial for buffering the adverse effects of climate change, especially extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and fires,” he said last week at the end of a tour of Kenya's key wetlands, where government officials, NGOs, and corporate representatives came together to spotlight the vital role of these ecosystems.
Krijger noted that peatlands, a type of wetland, alone hold about twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined.
Krijger said: “We are now at minus 70 per cent when it comes to healthy wetlands globally, and we’re losing them at an alarming rate. With climate change progressing, we might be looking at an acceleration in this loss.” He pointed this as a key factor driving the loss of freshwater biodiversity besides other harmful impacts on ecosystems.
Julie Mulonga, Eastern Africa director at Wetlands International, said: “As climate impacts intensify, wetlands are one of our best defenses. They play a crucial role as nature’s “sponges”, capturing water, purifying it, storing it during floods, releasing it slowly during drought, making them critical for water security and acting as critical buffers that mitigate the effects of climate change. Yet many people still don’t understand their value.”
She also emphasised how these ecosystems play a central role in supporting communities across Kenya and Eastern Africa. “Many people in rural areas depend directly on wetlands for fishing, water, food and income. When wetlands are degraded, these resources disappear, impacting nutrition, economic stability, and resilience to climate events.”
Ms Mulonga highlighted that the loss is especially severe for smaller wetlands that don’t appear on official maps and are easily drained or degraded for agriculture and development.
“Small wetlands are the biggest casualties,” said Ms Mulonga, “They often don’t have formal status and get cleared for farms, housing, or other uses. But when you remove a wetland, you’re ripping out a piece of an ecosystem that supports countless species and communities.” Andrew Kinyua, Kenya’s National Water Resources Director, highlighted a critical issue facing Kenya and its neighbours: the lack of baseline data on water resources, which hinders effective conservation and restoration efforts.
“We discovered that we didn’t have a baseline for our water resources. We didn’t know how many wetlands we had or their state of health. Without that, it’s difficult to measure loss or recovery.
“We must set tangible targets, for example, restoring a certain number of kilometres of rivers or hectares of wetlands to track progress and hold ourselves accountable.”
He noted that Kenya has launched a Freshwater Spatial Plan — an ambitious initiative to identify, map and prioritise the protection and restoration of the country’s most threatened and vulnerable catchment areas, set restoration targets, and create a central database for stakeholders and communities. This is aimed at restoring degraded wetlands and better manage river basins that support farms, fisheries, and growing towns.
He added that the plan will also help expand the existing conservation network for freshwater resource health, secure financing for water conservation efforts, and guide government’s decision making related to water and energy infrastructure. The initiative will also create an online platform that allows access to freshwater data for stakeholders and citizens alike.
This initiative is part of Kenya’s contribution to the Freshwater Challenge, a global effort to restore 300,000 km of degraded rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands by 2030. Kenya is one of 50 participating nations that have committed to setting measurable national targets by the end of 2025 and integrating them into restoration and conservation plans.
This initiative is a key part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Wetlands International and its partners — including the Nature Conservancy, WWF, and IUCN — have joined Kenya and other nations in the Freshwater Challenge.
“The truth is that wetlands are the forgotten heroes of climate resilience,” says Ms Mulonga. “We focus a lot on forests or savannahs, but wetlands are the unsung spaces that sustain life, human and wildlife, across the planet. When we lose them, we lose more than water and habitat. We lose resilience. We lose a part of ourselves.”
Ms Mulonga said the multi-stakeholder approach is critical. “We need policies that enable action, resources to implement them, and partnerships across sectors — conservation groups, government, communities, and the private sector. We can’t wait. We must mark, map, and protect our wetlands. From the biggest Ramsar sites to the smallest, often overlooked wetlands in rural areas. They matter for people, for nature, and for our planet’s future.”
Policies
Kenya and other Eastern African countries have policies and strategies for wetlands, but implementation often falls short. Regulations exist, and documents have been developed, but many wetlands remain unmapped and unprotected, according to Ms Mulonga.
She added that this isn’t the government’s responsibility alone. “The private sector needs to come to the table as well.
“Companies too rely on water and wetlands and must join the conversation. They need to understand that a degraded wetland doesn’t just affect wildlife, it affects their bottom line too,” she added.
