What are wetlands?
A wetland is an area of land that is either temporarily or permanently inundated due to both natural and artificial causes. Approximately 21% of Argentina’s surface is occupied by wetland ecosystems.
Source: leydehumdalesya.org
Why are wetlands important?
Wetlands are crucial ecosystems for:
- Local development.
- Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
- Host a high biodiversity.
- An estimated 40% of the world’s species inhabit or breed in wetlands.
- Receive, store and release water, as well as regulate its flows.
- Regulate temperature, mitigate the effects of rainfall and droughts.
- Form the basis of local economies, where access to freshwater and food provides opportunities for productive development, recreation and tourism.
What is the issue?
The main problem facing these ecosystems is their accelerated degradation and destruction on a global scale. It is estimated that in the last 300 years, 87% of wetland surface has disappeared, and since 1970, 35% of wetlands worldwide have been lost.
Source: leydehumdalesya.org
In Argentina, the deterioration of wetlands accelerates each year, primarily due to economic activities lacking environmental regulation:
- Intensive livestock farming.
- Agricultural activities.
- Mining development.
- Real estate business.
As a country, we do not have legal instruments or public policies to regulate these activities for the conservation and preservation of wetlands.
What do we do at Consciente Colectivo?
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
2022
September:
Plurinational Action for Wetlands together with the University Network for the Climate Crisis
December:
We participated in the joint plenary of the Environment, Agriculture and Budget Committees of the Chamber of Deputies, which issued a majority opinion on a project presented by Juntos por el Cambio.
2021
August: Mobilization #WetlandsToCongress
November:
Legislative elections: We proposed a citizen-driven and collaborative research initiative to investigate how various candidates from the 24 jurisdictions would vote on a Wetlands Law.
2020
Debate Series
We initiated the debate series “And from this, how do we emerge?” in which we aimed to present different perspectives on two current issues and foster a broad and constructive public debate.
The first debate was “Wetlands on the table,” featuring Leonardo Grosso (National Deputy and President of the Committee on Natural Resources and Conservation of the Human Environment), Gladys Gonzalez (National Senator and President of the Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development), Graciela Castro (Humedales Multisectorial of Rosario), Enzo Vignale (agricultural producer), Julián Monkes (environmentalist) and Nicolas Carlino (Coninagro counselor). The debate was moderated by Javier Goldschtein (specialist in socio-environmental issues).
Document “One Million Signatures for the Wetlands Law”:
We delivered the document “One Million Signatures for the Wetlands Law” to deputies and senators in Congress.
COMMUNICATION
Twitter campaigns demanding #WetlandsLawNOW.
Instagram: “Wetlands in the Spotlight” campaign with the aim of delving into why we need a Wetlands Law NOW. So, an idea emerged: What if we tour different wetlands in the country to see the situation of each one?
ALLIANCES
We are part of:
- ReNaHu (National Wetlands Network)
- “Wetlands Law NOW” Network
