Wetlands are Manitoba’s Multi-taskers
Lake Ranch, MB (Photo by Thomas Fricke)
February 2nd is usually highlighted by Groundhog Day when furry rodents forecast if we will have an early spring. Since 1971, this day also serves as World Wetlands Day – a day to celebrate Manitoba’s diverse and beautiful wetlands. Deep carbon-rich peatlands, mysterious poplar swamps, misty ephemeral ponds, expansive marshes - these amazing places support carnivorous plants, dragonflies, frogs, and birds. They are nursery habitat for fish and support a wide diversity of insects that are the foundation of the food chain. Close to half of Canada’s wildlife species rely on wetlands for at least part of their lifecycle.
Wetlands also support people.
Wetlands provide safety benefits with an efficiency and resiliency often greater than human-made infrastructures, including protecting our homes, businesses and roads from heavy rains and flooding. They also help regulate water runoff throughout the year, storing water during high precipitation periods and slowly releasing it during drought and dry periods.
Wetlands clean water by filtering out sediments, excess nutrients, pesticides, fertilizers and heavy metals. This is important in wetlands connected or close to watercourses, since we use this water for drinking, fishing and agriculture. Wetlands also have a fantastic role in cultural and recreational opportunities like nature appreciation, birdwatching, paddling, fishing and hunting
Extreme rainfall events are more frequent and conditions would be much worse if we didn’t have wetlands acting as a huge sponge during floods, buffering our community infrastructure and working lands. This was reinforced by a new research study, Flood prevention benefits provided by Canadian natural ecosystems.
The collaboration between the University of British Columbia and Nature Conservancy of Canada examined the benefits that Canada’s natural ecosystems provide for flood prevention. It identified the natural ecosystems across the country that capture and retain the highest amounts of runoff and are simultaneously located upstream of urban and agricultural areas. The most important of these ecosystems help prevent flooding in 54% of urban areas and 74% of agricultural lands within floodplains. Southern Manitoba is identified as one of the most critical opportunities for wetlands conservation in the country.
Manitobans care about wetlands. Communities across southern Manitoba have expressed concern – and hope – for conservation and the key role that nature plays in their community’s culture, economy and security. These communities, along with landowners, donors and partners have worked closely with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to conserve over 10,000 ha of Manitoban wetlands.
Canada is home to an astonishing 25 per cent of the world’s wetlands yet these diverse and vital ecosystems can be under-appreciated and under-protected. The country has lost an estimated 70% of its ponds, bogs, swamps, salt marshes, estuaries and other wetlands in southern areas where most people live. In some communities it is high as 95%. Globally, 64 per cent of the world’s wetlands have already been lost, a rate three times greater than the loss of forests.
Hidden under ice and snow this time of year, wetlands are nature’s multi-taskers and provide us with safer communities. Visit NCC: Nature Conservancy of Canada to learn more on how the Nature Conservancy of Canada is preserving some of our most critical ecosystems for both people and wildlife.
Cary Hamel is Director of Conservation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Manitoba
