Africa’s wetlands among the most degraded in the world: 2025 Global Wetland Outlook

Africa is among the places where degradation of wetlands has been noted in recent years despite millions of people on the continent depending on the ecosystems for food, water, and cushioning them from natural disasters, and effects of climate change.

While there is widespread deterioration of “wetland ecological character” in most regions and globally, the extent of deterioration is particularly high in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This is despite an increase in the same being recorded in Europe, North America and Oceania.

At the same time, the continent’s wetlands were also reported to be in a poor state when compared to those in other parts of the world including in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, by 2024, according to the 2025 Global Wetland Outlook (GWO) report, by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands—the Ramsar Convention.

“Regionally, Contracting Parties from all six regions reported more wetland deterioration than improvement. On average, deterioration was most widespread in Africa and Asia,” noted the report.

It gave the example of South Africa, the continent’s most developed economy, observing that the nation’s wetlands are “degrading faster than they can be restored”.

“Given that certain, often significant, impacts on wetlands are not discernible without field-based assessment, wetlands are anticipated to be more degraded than could be estimated in the national assessment. In the face of increasing pressures, South African wetlands continue to degrade faster than investment in their rehabilitation," the GWO stated.

The report identified urbanisation, industrial and infrastructure development as the three most important drivers of wetland degradation and loss across Africa, a trend that was also identified in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This was in contrast to North America and Oceania, where invasive species were a larger concern, and in Europe, where concerns regarding drought were highlighted as the main cause.

The study explained that the condition of the world’s remaining wetlands is strongly related to the economic status of countries, observing that the ecosystems are in the worst current condition in least developed countries (LDCs), with considerably more wetlands reported as being in a poor state than in a good state.

“More wetlands are reported as being in poor condition for lower-income/lower-middle-income countries. In contrast, more wetlands are reported as in good than poor state in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and particularly in developed countries (DCs),” it further noted.

Overall, it estimated the total median value of ecosystem services by African wetlands as of 2023 to be US$825.7 billion, against a total global value of $39 trillion, and against Asia’s value of US$10.581 trillion.

The data contained in the report will help inform policy and legislative interventions to halt further depletion of wetlands, said Evelyn Ndlovu, Zimbabwe’s minister for environment, climate and wildlife.

“We need to make efforts to enhance cross-border wetland conservation initiatives, knowledge sharing, innovative financing, and greater community engagement,” she added.

According to Musonda Mumba, secretary general of the Ramsar Convention, restoring degraded wetlands could unlock massive socio-economic benefits for rural communities and accelerate the green transition across Africa.

“We must value wetlands and increase investments towards their restoration, since losing them comes at a heavy cost to planetary wellbeing and livelihoods,” Mumba said during the unveiling of a report titled Valuing, Conserving, Restoring and Financing Wetlands, at the ongoing 20th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN-20) in Nairobi on July 15, 2025.

The world is losing wetlands at an annual rate of 0.52 per cent. The loss significantly undermines global efforts to combat the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, hunger and poverty, especially in poor countries, Mumba added.

At the microeconomic level, wetlands are critical economic engines for local communities, said Anthony Nyong, director, climate change and green growth department, African Development Bank.

Giving the example of Zambia’s Kafue Flats wetland, he disclosed that a $300,000 restoration project reactivated natural flooding, improved biodiversity, and supported over a million people — unlocking artisanal fisheries worth $30 million a year.

He added; “At the macroeconomic level, degrading wetlands weakens our economies. It increases vulnerability to climate shocks, reduces productivity, and drives up public spending on disaster response. But investing in wetlands creates jobs, builds resilience, and enhances food and water security.”

Africa’s economies, he said, are nature dependent. With over 60 per cent of some countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) coming from agriculture, forestry, and tourism, contributions are often missing from national accounts.

The report explained that while wetlands cover only six per cent of the Earth’s surface, they provide critical ecosystem services, including flood control, food production, and carbon storage, valued at the equivalent of 7.5 per cent of global GDP.

The GWO 2025, notes that wetlands currently cover between 1,425 and 1,800 million hectares globally. “Since 1970, an estimated 411 million hectares of wetlands have been lost worldwide, representing a 22 per cent decline in global extent,” it noted.

The report comes days ahead of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15), scheduled for July 23-31 in Zimbabwe.