A view of the cover, Source: HarperCollins Publishers

I was not expecting to find the beautifully descriptive landscape that I stumbled upon in Water Lands: A vision for the world’s wetlands and their people. Published in February 2020, authors Fred Pearce and Jane Madgwick give readers in quarantine exactly what many are looking for: an escape. 

While we are stuck at home, Water Lands takes readers to wetlands around the world with Pearce and Madgwick as their guides. Often, I felt as if I was a travel companion, accompanying them through the pages, from destination to remote destination. But despite the appealing descriptions of travel, this is not a travel guide. Rather it is an exploration of the dangers of environmental degradation and the hope people supply in the face of it. 

The book is divided into sections based on various categories of wetlands, each dotted with beautiful photographs. Salient case studies illustrate the intensity of worldwide wetland destruction as well as the optimism that can be found in saving them. Like a stained-glass window, each segment depicts a complete story within its small, colored pane. But when viewed together, a more striking image emerges.  

Remarkably, the authors inspire themes of hope and revitalization in the face of environmental carnage. They make a strong case for turning to indigenous leaders for guidance on how to restore their native wetlands, stating that “the stories told here are just as much about wetlanders as wetlands.” 

One of my favorite chapters tells the story of the Ruoergai Plateau in China. The harsh frozen climate of the plateau melts briefly into a marshy grassland in the summers, feeding the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The plateau is made up of thick layers of peat, or partially decayed vegetation that efficiently store carbon from the atmosphere. Inhabited for 5000 years, humanity has only been able to survive on the plateau through yak farming. But as demand for yak products grew, the thick peat of the wetland was dried out, creating more space for the yaks. This led to overgrazing and a host of other ecological destruction. In short, the decision to drain the peat-land generated more problems than it solved, a theme that runs through many of the case studies. 

A view across the Ruoergai Plateau, Source: china.org 

The story of the Ruoergai Plateau is particularly interesting because it’s a story of hope. Through careful re-wetting processes, led by the native inhabitants of the plateau, sections of the wetland have been restored and native wildlife has begun to return. The wetland will never fully recover to its original undisturbed state. But this case study shows that historical harms can be reversed, creating fusions of human usage and ecological success in the world’s wetlands. 

These themes of recovery can be found in many chapters, including those set in the Moscow Peat-lands, and Java, Indonesia. But even outside these chapters, most stories contain both wins and losses, with endings still unknown. 

That being said, Pearce and Madgwick do not mince their words. They directly address the dangers of wetland degradation. One jaw dropping statistic stated that permafrost peatlands alone store double the amount of carbon that is currently in the atmosphere. These sorts of statistics, common throughout the book, illuminate how important it is to protect wetlands in order to keep stored carbon in the ground. Each page outlines another high-stakes battle for the life of an ecosystem – including its human inhabitants. 

In a chapter entitled “East African Lakes Drained for Valentine Rose,” the authors tell the story of the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. Here Dutch mega-farming operations have drained Lake Ziway to water millions of roses which will be sold across Europe. This story shows how the desertification of wetlands imperil local communities who have depended on wetland waters for generations. Forced to confront their potential complicity, readers might wonder if they have ever purchased roses from companies like this one. 

Despite the lyrical storytelling style and stunning photographs, there are moments where the book seems like a Wetlands International advertisement. Jane Madgwick is the CEO of conservation NGO Wetlands International. I would have appreciated more background on the mission and work of the organization. Instead, the book prompted me to do some of my own research on the organization and its goals – which was perhaps the authors’ intention.

After closing the final chapter, the authors leave me with one last call to action: We have irreversibly harmed wetlands. While it is impossible to return these beautiful ecosystems to their former pristine condition, as we saw in the case of the Ruoergai Plateau, a new balance can be struck. Humanity must protect and revive what has been lost by conserving wetlands and the cultures that thrive around them. 

In the introduction to the book Pearce and Madgwick draw on the biblical origins of life. “The Bible says that God created the world by dividing the land from the water. If so, He forgot about wetlands.” With this quote they remind us from the very beginning that there is no divine intervention to save the water lands. It is up to us.