1 Why are wetlands important? Wetlands are flat areas of land that are covered by salt water or fresh water, permanently or temporarily. Wetlands include lagoons, deltas, marshes and lakes. 1 1 ●●○ explain what a wetland is and give an example. 12 ●●● investigate a Spanish wetland. Where is it? Why is it important? Is the wetland threatened? Why? How is this wetland protected? Tablas de Daimiel, Ciudad Real Delta del Ebro, Tarragona Flamingos in Doñana, Huelva IMPORTANCE Wetlands are home to a great variety of animals and plants. They are stopover points for European birds migrating to Africa. They help to combat climate change by capturing carbon and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases. PROTECTION There are restrictions on activities and developments that might affect wetland areas. For example, water extraction, hunting or fishing. Some wetlands are protected areas, such as the Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel. SITUATION More than half of these wetlands have disappeared or suffer from: overexploitation of their groundwater water pollution caused by fertilisers and pesticides the expansion of human settlements s e v e n t e e n · 17
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