Celebrated every year on 2 February, World Wetlands Day raises global awareness about the critical role wetlands play for people and nature. This year’s theme, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage”, highlights how traditional knowledge helps sustain wetland ecosystems while preserving cultural identity. Beyond their cultural value, wetlands provide essential social and ecological benefits, supporting rich biodiversity and local livelihoods. They also play a vital role in climate regulation by storing large amounts of carbon and helping to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Wetlands, including bogs, mangroves, marshes and others, are among the planet’s most effective natural carbon sinks. Covering only around 7% of the Earth’s land surface, they store an estimated one-third of the planet’s terrestrial carbon [1], locked in waterlogged soils where decomposition is slow and carbon can remain stored for centuries. When wetlands are degraded or drained, this stored carbon can be released back into the atmosphere, turning these ecosystems from climate allies into sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, wetlands help retain nutrients such as nitrogen, improving water quality in river basins and coastal waters [2]. Protecting and restoring wetlands is therefore a powerful nature-based solution that benefits biodiversity, climate mitigation and human wellbeing.
Coastal wetland habitats sit at the dynamic interface between land and sea and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Habitats such as saltmarshes, mangroves, estuaries, and lagoons support diverse communities of fish, invertebrates, and plants, while also offering essential feeding, breeding, and resting sites for seabirds. Beyond their role in biodiversity, coastal wetlands act as natural buffers against storms and flooding by absorbing wave energy and stabilising shorelines, helping to protect coastal communities from extreme weather events [3].
Research has also shown that seabirds do not simply rely on these ecosystems, they actively influence ecological processes within them. By depositing guano (accumulation of seabird droppings [4]), seabirds move nutrients from the ocean to land, boosting nutrient cycling and productivity [5], while their feeding activities help support the recovery and multifunctionality of coastal wetlands [6]. The map of this week shows the distribution of marine birds observations available in the European Ocean Biodiversity Information System (EurOBIS) database. Their relatively high abundance across coastal regions illustrates how closely seabird populations are linked to healthy coastal ecosystems.
The importance of coastal wetlands extends beyond the shoreline, as they are closely connected to the wider marine environment and support biodiversity far beyond their immediate boundaries. Recognising the interconnected nature of marine ecosystems—from coastal wetlands to the open ocean—has brought global attention to the need to protect marine biodiversity. This broader perspective was also explored in our previous Map of the Week published on 9 January 2026, which highlights marine biodiversity and the recent entry into force of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
Wish to learn more, engage and contribute?
- Did you know that the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) offers vital and unique data layers and products on marine biodiversity that can support European Union Member States in their obligations to global treaties as well as European Union policy? EMODnet Biology offers many data layers, including data layers on bird abundance and distribution and mammals’ abundance and distribution. Amongst multiple data layers, EMODnet Seabed Habitats offers a data layer on coastal wetlands in European waters, a data layer on seagrass cover in Europe and the EMODnet broad-scale seabed habitats map for Europe (EUSeaMap). Explore the EMODnet Map Viewer and the Products Catalogue to discover more. To view a data layer in the Map Viewer, click on ‘Catalogue’ and select a data layer in the drop-down list.
- World Wetlands Day is also a call to action, with events taking place around the globe. Take a look and join an event happening near you!
- Find out about the ReWet project which focuses on restoring wetlands to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and maximise carbon uptake.
- Learn about a study which explored whether restoring wetlands could help reduce nitrogen levels and improve water quality across the European Union.
- Dive in the eu-citizen.science platform to discover citizen science initiatives dedicated to wetlands, birds, the ocean and water.
- Explore the Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE) website to learn more about biodiversity in Europe.
The data in the map is provided by the EurOBIS.
The European Atlas of the Seas is powered by the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet).
[3] https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/5-reasons-why-we-love-wetlands
[4] https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/bird-academys-a-to-z-glossary-of-bird-terms/#G