What’s driving wetland loss and degradation?

Fifty years after the start of the Ramsar Convention, the loss and degradation of wetlands continues. This chapter presents a systematic analysis of the causes of loss and degradation based on the overview presented in the first Global Wetland Outlook published by the Ramsar Convention in 2018. Four categories of direct drivers (physical regime, introduction, extraction, and structural change), driven by indirect drivers in four development sectors (water-energy, food and fibre, industry and infrastructure, tourism and recreation), and six megatrends (e.g. population growth, urbanisation, climate change) are presented and illustrated with examples. Improvements in the assessment of drivers at site and catchment levels are suggested, including the use of rapid assessment, earth observation and modelling, and more detailed reporting on drivers to the Convention.