Dry truths

THE sixth gathering of the signatories to
the Ramsar Convention on the world's
wetlands, at Brisbane, Australia recently,
has revealed a disturbing picture.
California, us, reportedly lost 91 per
cent of its wetlands in the past 200 years,
more than any other area in the world.
In fact, the us, which once boasted of 90
million ha of wetlands, is left with only
about 40 million. Said Michael Moser,
director, Wetlands Internationals, a
conservation group, "The extent of wetland losses in the us makes depressing reading". The group is currently
involved in maintaining a database on
the world's wetlands. Its current survey
shows that France has lost 67 per cent If
its wetlands, Italy 66 per cent, Greece
63 per cent and the Netherlands 55 per
cent. "We are only just beginning to
realise how important these areas are for
such things as natural control of floods,
maintaining aquifers, filtering out
pollutants and preventing salination,"
says Moser. Wetlands are being lost
to dams, agriculture, construction of
ports, roads and hydroelectric plants.
The conservation group is now urging
countries to establish an inventory
of wetlands.