Wetlands Restoration and Creation

ENTRY DATE: 20.04.2015 | LAST UPDATE: 20.04.2015

CATEGORIES:

  • Coastal Regions
  • Reinforcing facilities and structures

TECHNOLOGIES MATURITY:

Applicable immediately

Technology Owners:

  • Government
  • Private companies

Needs Address

Measures against erosion, storm surges, flooding, inundation

Adaptation effects

  • Absorb wave action and consequently minimize damage farther inland
  • Coastal regeneration through trapping sediment and thereby helping to maintain and expand coastal land
  • It can improve water quality and wildlife habitat 

Overview and Features

Natural restoration of existing wetland areas including a diverse range of shallow-water and intertidal habitats, including sea grass beds, salt marshes or  manmade restoration through creation of shallow basins filled with sand or gravel, and planted with vegetation. 

Cost

  • Incorporation of natural protective measures have been found to significantly reduce the construction costs of employing conventional infrastructure, such as embankments and sea walls, alone – e.g. in the Netherlands dykes constructed with reeds or flood forest protection have been found to have they have been found to be 2700 USD or more cheaper for construction and maintenance per mile (Coelho, 2013)
  • Although the green alternatives found in natural wetland restoration are much cheaper than harder and more modern infrastructural options such as embankments and sea walls, maintenance costs can be higher (Coelho, 2013).
  • The cost varies depending on  size, complexity, and wetland type

Energy source

Fuel etc. for construction 

Ease of maintenance

Requires ongoing maintenance from multiple stakeholders including experts and local communities

Technology performance

  • Globally, coastal wetlands have provided $250–$51,000 per hectare per year in hurricane protection (Costanza, R, et.al. 2011)
  • Sediment or nutrient runoff from farming, unsustainable fishing practices will also harm an artificially constructed ecosystem.
  • Can provide a “benefit cost ratio of 3:75 in return of investment and an internal rate of return of 7–79%, depending on the ecosystem restored and its economic context” (Nellemann and Corcoran, 2010)
  • restored natural coastal areas are a more feasible adaptation option than constructed ones, especially if the constructed features are built in an area where the ecosystem previously exist

Considerations

  • Requires large scale land acquisition – implementers should take into account the need for coastal real estate for the construction
  • Requires expertise, resources, and commitment from many different stakeholders including local community and local authorities (EPA, N.d) 

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

  • New habitats for vegetation, fisheries, and wildlife
  • Fishing, Tourism
  • Carbon sequestration sinks
  • Groundwater filtration and recharge
  • Nutrient recycling
  • Food security
  • Require significant land area, eliminating that land from other potential uses and potentially creating political and economic problems

Information Resources

Coelho, V. 2013. Building with nature: infrastructure and ecosystems for climate resilience. Wetlands International. Available at: http://www.wetlands.org/Portals/0/Bonn%202013%20hybrid%20engineering_Vera%20Coelho.pdf [01 April 2015]

Costanza, R, Kubiszewski,I, Roman ,J, Sutton, P. 2011.Changes in ecosystem services and migration in low-lying coastal areas over the next 50 years. Available at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230815880_Changes_in_ecosystem_services_and_migration_in_low-lying_coastal_areas_over_the_next_50_years [ 19 march 2015]

EPA, N.d. Wetland Restoration. Available at: http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/outreach/upload/restoration_pr.pdf [24 march 2015]

Nellemann, C., and E. Corcoran, eds. 2010. Dead Planet, Living Planet: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Development. A rapid response assessment. Nations Environment Programme, GRID-Arendal. Available at: http://www.unep.org/pdf/RRAecosystems_screen.pdf [25 November 2014]United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). 2008. Constructed Wetlands Manual. Kathmandu, Nepal: UN-Habitat Water for Asian Cities Programme

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). 2008. Constructed Wetlands Manual. Kathmandu, Nepal: UN-Habitat Water for Asian Cities Programme

Wetlands International, n.d. Green Coast in Aceh – Coastal rehabilitation. Available at: http://archive-org.com/page/677230/2012-11-16/http://www.wetlands.org/Whatwedo/Ouractions/GreenCoastscommunitybasedrestoration/GreenCoast2inAceh/CoastalRehabilitation/tabid/1178/Default.aspx [08 April 2015]