World Wetlands Day 2025
January 29, 2025
World Wetlands Day
World Wetlands Day has been celebrated each February 2nd since 1997. February 2nd is a significant day because the Ramsar Convention (officially called the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) was adopted on that date in 1971. The Ramsar Convention is an international agreement that recognizes wetlands as an irreparable resource of economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value and commits signatories – including Canada – to protecting and stewarding wetlands.
World Wetlands Day is a day where people around the world celebrate wetlands and raise awareness about the importance of wetlands. Wetlands are known for their incredible ability to provide habitat for species, filter water, reduce or prevent flooding, serve as buffers for wildfires, and sequester carbon, making them critical for both climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity preservation. Wetlands can also serve as important cultural and spiritual spaces, including for Indigenous communities.
Unfortunately, it is estimated that 64 percent of wetlands across the globe have been degraded or destroyed by human activities since 1900. Given these alarming rates, there is an urgency to halt and reverse their destruction and to engage in actions that restore and conserve these vital ecosystems.
“Protecting wetlands for our common future”
The theme of World Wetlands Day 2025, “Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future”, is significant because wetlands are increasingly under threat as they are drained or infilled to facilitate development and activities. Some watersheds, like ones in larger municipalities, face more pressures than others. For example, it is estimated that the Halifax peninsula was once approximately 18% wetland, almost all of which has now been destroyed.
The Nova Scotia Wetland Conservation Policy states that:
Details on the amount of wetland originally present in Nova Scotia that was lost following European settlement are limited, but losses appear to have been high for some types of wetlands. For example, beginning in the early 1700s, 80% of the salt marshes along the Bay of Fundy and greater than 50% of salt marshes province-wide are estimated to have been lost, mainly to dyking by Acadians for agriculture. Losses of freshwater wetlands are also thought to be high in our more fertile regions, like the Annapolis Valley and the Northumberland Strait, along the floodplains of the Cornwallis, Annapolis and Shubenacadie Rivers, as well as near urban centres.
That statement is already 14 years old.
All levels of Crown government, including federal, provincial, and municipal governments, have responsibilities and powers to steward wetlands. Unfortunately, not all levels of Crown government are equal to the task.
The federal Wetland Conservation Policy, the primary federal tool used to guide decision-making that affects wetlands, has not been updated since the 1990s.
The Nova Scotia Wetlands Conservation Policy has not been revisited since its creation in 2011. Furthermore, recent changes by the Province significantly narrowed the Province’s interpretation of the definition and application of 'Wetlands of Special Significance', which is a designation that, arguably, offers the greatest protection to wetlands. The Province’s move demonstrates that the government is going in a direction (for example, responding to “unprecedented growth”) that fails to prioritize wetland protection and long-term sustainability. That means that the Province is neglecting the sustainable management of a key and natural tool that helps us fight climate change and biodiversity loss.
In Nova Scotia, municipalities have taken varied and flexible approaches, and so we have focused the remainder of this blog post on municipalities, and the tools that individuals and local communities can use to lead wetlands conservation.
Local tools for stewarding wetlands
Municipal governments are empowered by two laws, called “enabling statutes”: the Municipal Government Act and, in the case of the Halifax Regional Municipality (“HRM”), the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter. Municipalities can regulate matters that are given to them by their enabling statute, which can include land-use, development, and other activities that affect wetlands or enable their protection.
The benefit of municipalities regulating and protecting wetlands is that they already regulate many local activities and developments that have significant impacts on wetlands. For example, wetlands are prone to destruction due to urban development, and therefore, it is imperative that municipal councils make decisions that ensure development minimizes impacts on wetlands and promotes their conservation.
Municipalities are well positioned because they have local knowledge, a significant degree of control over where development occurs, and they can facilitate local, public input into decision-making. Some of the powers that municipalities may use to steward wetlands include:
Promoting the study, mapping, and inventorying of local wetlands
Establishing policies and by-laws that restrict or prohibit development in or adjacent to wetlands, using approaches like buffers or building setbacks
Creating conservation zones or establishing municipal parks
Purchasing lands that have wetlands or wetland areas
Municipalities can also seek to collaborate with local environmental organizations, as well as grassroots and neighborhood groups. Community groups can offer valuable and significant local knowledge, advocate for strong wetlands policy and by-laws, spread awareness about wetlands, conduct citizen science and research, and organize around the protection of wetlands.
The uptake of these powers to promote wetland stewardship varies greatly across Nova Scotia’s municipalities. Some municipalities have not taken full advantage of their powers. This means there are significant opportunities to strengthen local wetland stewardship and protect these importance ecosystems from unsustainable development.
Here are some examples of work being undertaken at the municipal level that supports wetland stewardship:
The municipal planning strategy for the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg encourages collaboration and partnerships with environmental groups and organizations to aid in facilitating scientific knowledge of coastal ecosystems, therefore promoting an understanding of coastal ecosystems and encouraging their conservation and effective management.
The municipal planning strategy for the Municipality of the Country of Kings requires municipal council to establish an “Environmental Constraints Zone” in which land uses and activities will be restricted in areas, including wetlands, that are environmentally sensitive to development pressures.
The land-use by-law for the Municipality of the County of Victoria prohibits all development within 15 horizontal metres (49.1 feet) and 2.5 vertical metres (8.2 feet) from the ordinary high-water mark of water bodies, which includes the bed and shore of wetlands.
The municipal planning strategy for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality encourages the acquisition of lands within environmental sensitive areas to limit risk to public safety and property, and of lands in watersheds (which can include wetland areas) to support the long-term provision of drinking water.
Taking Action
Everyone plays a role in wetland stewardship, and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in protecting these vital ecosystems.
For example, with the recent municipal elections in Nova Scotia, now is the perfect time to connect with both new and returning council members in your community to discuss how they can enhance support for local wetland protection efforts.
There may also be opportunities for you to find (or start!) a local community group that seeks to steward wetlands, engage in citizen science, spread awareness, or advocate for better wetland protection.
Lastly, if you have a wetland on your property, the best thing you can do is leave it undisturbed. Allowing it to function naturally will benefit both you and the wildlife that depend on it.
Concluding Remarks
Protecting wetlands depends on collective action at every level of society: World Wetlands Day offers an opportunity for reflection and action, reminding us that the stewardship of wetlands is a shared responsibility for the health and well-being of our planet and our communities.
While global efforts to protect wetlands remain crucial, local communities and municipalities hold a unique and pivotal role in safeguarding these natural environments. By utilizing existing tools, municipalities can engage in meaningful actions that not only prevent the further destruction of local wetlands but also promote their restoration. Municipalities in Nova Scotia have the opportunity—and moral responsibility—to take proactive steps in wetland conservation.
About the Co-Authors:
Mike Kofahl is a staff lawyer at East Coast Environmental Law who works on coastal and marine issues and has authored several public resources about federal, provincial, and municipal legal and policy tools to steward wetlands.
Mimi O’Handley is the Wetlands and Water Coordinator on the Wilderness Team and Coastal Team at the Ecology Action Centre who works on issues related to freshwater and wetlands in Nova Scotia and advocates for biodiversity protection and climate change adaptation.
Luke McGowan is a third-year law student at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and supported legal research about municipal wetlands stewardship.
Additional Resources
Guide to Municipal Wetlands Stewardship in Nova Scotia
Legal and Policy Tools to Protect Wetlands in Nova Scotia
Wetlands & Water (Wetlands Toolkit)
Mike Kofahl
Staff Lawyer
