What can we do to avoid weather failures?
Wetlands and their role in regulating humidity in cities.
The Atlantic Forest is one of the 25 areas on Earth recognized as “hotspots”. So it can be said to be a region of high biodiversity. However, few people know that there are other landscapes within the forest, such as sandbanks, mangroves, and flooded areas. Wetlands cover more than a fifth of the tropical rainforest in Brazil. Swamp, wetland, or marsh (in Spanish): all these names refer to the swamp, an environment that still shelters many of the indigenous peoples of the Brazilian coast, providing them with abundant food and shelter in their floodplains. In the words of storyteller Alberto Lamego: It is the shallow waters of the lagoons that force them to build lake villages. The village by the lake, with food in its surroundings, fills and revitalizes them [...]. They are, so to speak, the “amphibious peoples” who inhabit these areas. The swamps, pejoratively referred to as “unhealthy places” and often neglected, are true forested floodplains teeming with life in the low-lying areas, with water levels fluctuating according to the season.
The first major convention on wetlands of international importance took place in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and is now known as the Ramsar Convention. From the point of view of global agreements, wetlands are considered to be the entire expanse of swamps, ponds and floodplains, rivers, wetlands, estuaries, mangroves, and even coral reefs. Since joining the convention, Brazil has promoted the inclusion of 27 Ramsar sites. These include the Atlantic Forest APA Cananéia Iguape, in Peruíbe, in the south of São Paulo, and the APA Guaratuba, on the Paraná coast.
Wetlands are ecologically and environmentally important habitats. They are home to very special flora and fauna and contribute to the replenishment of the groundwater table, which helps to conserve water supplies, improve water quality, control flooding and, of course, regulate temperature and climate, making it cooler. Wetlands also provide environmental services that are essential for food production and society as a whole.
In urban and peri-urban areas, wetlands are subject to a wide range of pressures. Although the geo-ecological importance and social, economic, cultural, and scientific value of such wetlands are well known, in practice these places are forgotten in cities. The suppression of vegetation contributes to the reduction of water availability through evaporation. The silent contamination of groundwater is worrying and getting worse. Real estate speculators see them as potential landfill sites and for urban expansion. When swamps are below ground, they produce heat from the buried organic matter and the surrounding area becomes even hotter. Marshlands are often insufficiently researched and their rich biodiversity is in danger of being lost forever. Therefore, in urban residential areas, the few remaining marshlands in the coastal region should be preserved as a matter of priority.
These dark, tea-colored waters, rich in nutrients due to the decomposition of the surrounding vegetation, are home to a complex network of living creatures. Perhaps floating plants, aquatic insects, tree frogs, alligators, and fish, not to mention the countless birds and small mammals that visit them. Therefore, scientists point out that these habitats should be protected as a priority for the preservation of biodiversity.
In times of climate emergency, with bad weather such as fires and drought, wetlands can function very well as heat regulators. Cities need to become more permeable. It is expected that the government will work to mitigate the effects of climate change by creating parks that store more water. And this is where wetlands come in. They are sponges that distribute rainwater and gradually release it back into the soil.
And isn't it all wonderful? Wetlands can be a climate solution?
Let's take care of our wetlands!
Best regards!
Luisa Maria Sarmento-Soares
UFES e Instituto Nossos Riachos. Niterói- RJ. sarmento.soares@gmail.com
SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15
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