Editorial: Wetlands: Vulnerability and Challenges of their Management under Climate Change

Carlos Hiroo Saito^1*Jose Fabrega Duque²Stuart E Bunn³Manuela Morais⁴

• ¹University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
• ²Universidad Tecnologica de Panama, Panama City, Panama
• ³Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
• ⁴Universidade de Evora, Evora, Portugal

Wetlands are diverse ecosystems worldwide, corresponding to areas that are inundated or saturated with water, suppor9ng typical biodiversity adapted to and dependent on water regimes and associated soils. They are part of wider hydrological systems and basins, playing a vital role in the hydrological cycle. They are considered natural harvesters of rainwater, ac9ng as both sinks and sources and storing water for release over 9me through a complex interac9on between surface and groundwater. Despite this importance, the world has lost about 50% of its wetlands since 1900 AD. Early recogni9on of the importance of the wetlands led to the approval of the Ramsar Conven9on on Wetlands in 1971. Considering that the Ramsar Conven9on entered into force on December 21, 1975, the year 2025 marks 50 years of its implementa9on. This research topic highlights the role of wetlands in ecosystem services, also aler9ng to their vulnerability to land use changes, anthropogenic disturbances such as pollu9on and sediment loads, and climate change. If wetlands are considered vulnerable to climate change on the one hand, they can also become an opportunity to mi9gate its effects, as recent studies have highlighted the cri9cal role of wetlands in carbon sequestra9on.The complexity involved in wetlands conserva9on also represents the modern challenge of interdisciplinary view and understanding. This research topic aims to enhance knowledge about wetlands in their en9rety, encompassing their complexity and vulnerability, as well as exploring pathways to improve their protec9on, including environmental educa9on and the recogni9on of their cultural value.The research topic gathered six ar9cles from different parts of the world, describing diverse wetlands in Africa, South America, Europe, and North America, and encompassing a range of different ins9tu9ons: the University of Girona (Spain), la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Huanta (Peru), the University of South Africa (South Africa), the Northumbria University and the Natural England (United Kingdom), the University of Central Florida and the Florida Ins9tute of Technology (United States of America), the University of Brasília, the Federal District Water, Energy and Sanita9on Regulatory Agency and the Tropical Water Research Alliance (Brazil).The first ar9cle (Educa9on about, in, and for Wetlands: Prac9ces, Premises, Possibili9es, and Challenges), by Thomas Marcinkowski, is a review ar9cle encompassing areas of educa9onal theory, research, and prac9ce relevant to wetlands educa9on, notably educa9on about, in, and for wetlands. Besides a literature review of major curricular and instruc9onal approaches worldwide and the broad instruc9onal strategies available to and commonly used in wetlands educa9on, the ar9cle retrieves goals and objec9ves for wetlands educa9on from the Report of the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Educa9on from the late 1970s. Ini9a9ves, projects, and programs from federal agencies in the United States, along with their curricular and instruc9onal materials, are analyzed in considera9on of their connec9on to educa9on about, in, and for inland and coastal wetlands.The second ar9cle (Integra9ng educa9on and conserva9on: a case study of the Huaper wetland), by Bruno K. Cardenas Morales and collaborators, presents the applica9on of an experien9al environmental educa9on approach to wetland conserva9on focusing on the Huaper Wetland. The research implemented hands-on educa9onal ac9vi9es and iden9fied key factors influencing the effec9veness of educa9onal interven9ons in wetland conserva9on, ul9mately proposing four ac9onable conserva9on strategies at the end that seek to integrate educa9onal efforts with community priori9es.The third ar9cle (Deurbanizing for conserva9on and adap9ng: framing ecological restora9on as a nature-based solu9on in La Pletera salt marsh, Catalonia (Spain)), by Diego Pereira Lindoso and collaborators, analyzes the case of de-urbaniza9on and ecological restora9on of La Pletera salt marsh (Catalan coast, Spain) within a nature-based solu9ons (NbS) approach and assessing the effec9veness of the Life Pletera project (2014-2018) as a strategy for climate adapta9on and biodiversity conserva9on.The fourth ar9cle (Progressing a river health assessment framework to tropical waters), by Camila Aida Campos and collaborators, proposed an integrated framework based on two joint indexes, the Tropical Water Healthy Index (TWHI) and the Suitability of the Class of Use (SCU) as a contribu9on to water bodies management tools & models, encompassing rivers, lakes, and wetlands, based on a case study of the Melchior River stretch, in Central Brazil. TWHI corresponds to a river index that integrates pressures on aqua9c ecosystems, their condi9ons, and societal and governmental responses, and SCU measures whether rivers' condi9ons are classified according to the proposed classes of use in the Brazilian water framework. The study demonstrated the simultaneous existence of problems with the legisla9on and highlighted the need from managerial ac9ons.The figh ar9cle (Culture, climate, and landscape shape the savanna and wetland mosaic of the Bolivian Amazon), by Bronwen S. Whitney and collaborators, inves9gated the environmental archeology of the Bolivian Llanos de Mojos. The study, based on extensive archaeological, paleoenvironmental, and GIS datasets, inves9gated the historical use and management of wetlands within the broader Mojos mosaic landscape. The main findings indicated that the wetlands of the Llanos de Mojos are the result of millennia of human interven9on and that past human modifica9ons of the landscape enabled the crea9on of a complex, managed wetland-terrestrial system for resource produc9on, to which terrestrial crop produc9on and agroforestry were integrated.The last ar9cle of the research topic (Impact of climate change on Africa's major lakes: a systema9c review incorpora9ng pathways of enhancing climate resilience), by Gideon W. Mutanda, & Godwell Nhamo performed systema9c reviews on the literature to understand the impact of climate change on four major African lakes (Chad, Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa) and to iden9fy pathways for enhancing their resilience. The study found that climate change and extreme climate events are affec9ng these lakes in terms of their physical, chemical, and biological characteris9cs, leading to changes in lake levels, aqua9c life, nutrient mixing, and the provision of ecosystem services. They also associated the ecosystemic impacts on the lakes with the socioeconomic ac9vi9es and livelihoods that depend on these water bodies.The set of ar9cles on this research topic encompasses various issues related to conserva9on ecology and integrated water resources management, offering a broad, mul9disciplinary perspec9ve and an integra9ve view to understand bejer the diversity and complexity of wetlands in different parts of the world. Enjoy them!