World's Largest Wetlands described and ranked

The following list of the world’s largest wetlands is borrowed from my book, co-edited with Lauchlan Fraser, The World’s Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation (2005, Cambridge University Press). During the past century, humans have destroyed approximately 50% of the world’s wetlands. As wetlands shrink in area, their important functions decline too— there is reduced carbon storage, lower biological diversity, lower fish production, less available water during drought, higher flood levels in spring, and higher risk of water pollution. Previously, these globally significant wetlands had not been highlighted, described, ranked or compared, and the research that had been done was sometimes fragmentary or published in obscure journals. Through the contributions of an international team of scholars, the book presents details on the status, ecological dynamics, functions, and conservation needs of the world’s largest wetlands.