Constraints and opportunities for training in wetland management

Abstract

Wetlands have been destroyed in the past because their many contributions to human welfare were not recognized. Today, much has changed and there is increasing national and international concern that these natural ecosystems must be managed more effectively. As awareness has grown, so has concern for the need to build institutional capacity to manage wetlands. At present, most institutions concerned with wetlands are organised in a sectoral fashion. Yet the importance of these resources lies in their multiple values, including fisheries, forestry, grazing, agriculture, flood control, water treatment, and many others. Such integrated management of wetlands will require major institutional change in almost all countries, and a substantial investment in staff training. This will, in turn, require us to learn general lessons from specific examples of sustainable wetland use. This paper examines these issues, discusses approaches to cross-sectoral training, and suggests ways in which the lessons of specific case studies in wetland management can be applied more widely.