This month marked the celebration of World Wetland Day – an annual event which aims to raise national and global awareness about wetlands to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them.
In this blog we’ll be exploring the significance of wetlands, looking at how they are intrinsically connected to the aims of two SDGs – and how businesses can elevate their sustainability through SDG reporting.
The focus of this year’s campaign is a call to take action. It’s an appeal to invest financial, political and human capital to save the world’s wetlands and restore those which have degraded and been damaged.
Wetlands are critically important ecosystems. Housing a diverse range of wildlife and areas of natural beauty, wetlands also protect us from extreme weather events and help us recover more efficiently from natural disasters. Whilst improving natural water quality and protecting against shoreline erosion, they also modulate atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like methane, CO2 and nitrous oxide.
Wetlands are effective carbon sinks – and given that carbon emissions are the one of the main causes of climate change, it’s important that measures are implemented to ensure their protection and longevity.
This is further cemented by the fact that whilst they represent a solution, their destruction (for example when they are developed for agriculture) can make the problem worse as it releases the carbon stored back into the atmosphere.
Nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have degraded since the eighteenth century. They continue to disappear at three times the rate of forests. This is due to a range of environmental and human factors. These include invasive species, pollution, unsustainable use and disrupted flows from dams and sediment dumping from deforestation and soil erosion upstream.
The celebration of World Wetlands Day this year is particularly significant as last year, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 75/317 which established the 2nd February as the date of this awareness day. It also formally recognised that wetlands are wetlands are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to a wide range of issues, including water quality, energy supply, biodiversity and the sustainable use of ecosystems.
Two specific SDG’s that wetlands are inextricably linked include Goal 15 and 6 – which focus on life on land and water. The former aims to “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. Goal 6 promotes “clean water and sanitation for all” by protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems.
Reversing the manmade damage inflicted on wetlands and achieving the milestones outlined by the various SDGs is impossible without the cooperation and contributions of businesses and organisations.
The efforts of consumers and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint may all be in vain unless organisations from all industries and sectors take responsibility and make sustainability integral to their everyday operations.
Whilst the structures, supply chains and scale of businesses means they have greater potential to inflict environmental damage, they also simultaneously have more opportunity and access to resources to minimise their carbon footprint and behave more sustainably.
From reviewing internal structures to identify areas of waste or large emissions through to replacing outdated, energy inefficient machines – all businesses have capacity to adapt and change for the greater good.
The supply chain is an inherent part of sustainability and the supply chain is at the heart of all businesses.
Wetlands and the supply chain may not be topics you’d normally associate with one another. However, they are inextricably tied – with many organisations relying on this natural resource as part of their procurement chain.
Whilst serving as sinks, sources and transformers of material they also produce food, goods and other raw materials for human use and consumption. This means they offer high economic value and are at the centre of many businesses supply chains.
In addition to supplying businesses with essential commodities, wetlands are also an important part of a wider picture. For example, their prominent role in flood management and water quality improvement means they maintain the surrounding landscapes, enabling society to function and recover more efficiently from extreme weather. This means they also contribute towards the preservation of roads and pathways – both examples of infrastructure that’s essential to most organisation’s trade, import and development.
This demonstrates how the degradation of wetlands can have catastrophic practical, operational and financial implications for businesses. It disrupts supply chains, causing delays, commodity shortages and difficult decision making for owners and employees alike.
Sustainable Development Goals such as 15 and 6 draw attention to the importance of wetlands and water and outline what progress needs to be made to protect them – on World Wetland Day and beyond.
A great way for businesses to support these goals is through SDG reporting. This refers to the act of publishing and disseminating data and statistics on the SDG indicators for key stakeholders. Reporting on this demonstrates a willingness to be transparent and gives businesses the opportunity to mark their progress towards any SDG-related performance goals they have set.
Whilst showing an active commitment to furthering their sustainability, implementing SDG reporting also offers organisations several benefits as it can improve their public reputation, image and position in the market. It also makes identifying unsustainable areas of the business a lot easier, allowing owners to plan and make better decisions going forwards.
Achieve your Sustainable Development Goals with Axiom.
Using our specialist reporting tool, we can empower your business to collate, calculate, track and report on your Sustainable Development in line with all of the United Nation’s stated goals.
From implementing sustainable development principles into your businesses through to achieving tangible goals and driving real change – we will equip you with the right tools and data to you can set baselines, report on key metrics and track progress.
To find out more or to book your free demo, please click here.
Want to know more? Please get in contact with our team here.
Contact Us
Join the sustainability Revolution &
Change Tomorrow
Unit 15, Waterside Business Park,
Livingstone Road, Hessle,
East Yorkshire,
HU13 0EG
Website by Blink Agency
