Wetlands range from ponds to rivers, reedbeds to bogs, and are home to a large diversity of plants and animals.  However, they are not just important for biodiversity.

Wetlands provide a range of benefits to people, called ecosystem services, many of which have an economic benefits including:

• Wetlands improve water quality by removing and sequestering pollutants and sediments in the water.

• Wetlands are of high importance to fisheries. Over two thirds of the world’s fish harvest is linked to the health of coastal and inland wetland areas.

• Wetlands may be of high importance to agriculture and timber production, through the maintenance of water tables and nutrient retention in floodplains.

• Wetlands store floodwaters, acting like natural sponges and slowing down the force of flood and storm waters as they travel downstream. Far from posing a flood threat, wetlands should be viewed as buffers, to protect areas where people live (Anonymous 2008d).

• Wetlands may provide important energy resources, such as peat and plant matter.

• Wetlands may be of value to transport, recreation and tourism.

• Wetlands offer habitat for wildlife. Many migratory birds and other wildlife depend on the ecological setting of wetlands for their survival.

• Wetlands support biodiversity. The variety of living organisms found in wetlands contributes to the health of our planet and our own lives possible by ensuring our food supply, regulating the atmosphere and providing raw materials for industry and medicine.

• Wetlands provide valuable open space and create wonderful recreational opportunities. Hiking, fishing, boating and bird watching are just a few of the activities people can enjoy in wetland areas. The scenic vistas of wetlands make them an ideal area for nature photographers or painters.

• Wetlands are vital in preventing further climate change by acting as a store of carbon. Until recently this has not been fully appreciated, and in Ireland it has still not been adequately communicated to the general public. For example, peatlands are known to store 20-30% of the worlds soil carbon exceeding by three times the amounts stored in tropical rainforests.

In addition, wetlands have special attributes as part of the cultural heritage of humanity: they are related to religious and cosmological beliefs, constitute a source of aesthetic inspiration, provide wildlife sanctuaries, and form the basis of important local traditions.

To date, society has generally only realised the benefit of wetland services after they have disappeared or been seriously degraded. Damaged or degraded wetlands are not able to provide the range of ecosystem services provided by intact wetlands which can be categorised into four main categories; provisioning, cultural, regulating and supporting. Problems with flooding, lost recreational opportunities, reduced fish populations, and more costly water treatment are examples of lost benefits only understood after a wetland ecosystem has been degraded or destroyed. The loss of these ecosystem services is accompanied by costs associated with restoring wetlands or providing the lost services in other ways. These are costs could have been avoided if the value of the wetland was initially recognised.

Putting an economic value on something as abstract as the ecological services of a wetland is a difficult idea for most people, but is becoming a more accepted economic tool. The concept of natural capital, which views natural resources as assets or stocks that yield a flow of benefits to humans, is gaining attention, with the aim of supporting more sustainable decision making.

A number of reports give clear examples of the economic value of wetlands. The UK Environment Agency has a wealth of literature showing the value of intact functioning wetlands in the control and alleviation of flooding episodes. In addition, a number of reports exist which show that intact wetland systems provide excellent value for money in the provision of water services when compared to the costs that would accrue if these services had to be supplied by artificial systems. For example, in the USA the State of New York purchased a watershed area at a cost of $1.5 billion, rather than spend the estimated $3 - 8 billion it would have cost for artificial waste water treatment facilities to do the same job (Ramsar Bureau). 

In a report by the Biodiversity Unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the biodiversity value of wetlands in Ireland was estimated to be worth €385 million per year to the Irish economy. In addition a further proportion of the €330 million assigned by this study to the economic value of the nature and eco-tourism value of all Irish habitats can be assigned to wetlands. One other stark conclusion to emerge from this report was that “it is clear that the benefits of biodiversity far exceed the costs of the current levels of biodiversity protection” in Ireland, an indication that we still do not value the functions and services provided by wetlands to our well-being as a society. 

In many ways, the economic benefits received from wetlands are comparable to the benefits received from things such as public schooling, health care and municipal infrastructure. The idea behind putting an economic value on some of these wetland benefits before ecosystem-altering decisions are made is to recognise these potential costs up front and thereby put wetland-related decisions on a more economically sound footing.

However, the concept of ecosystem services and natural capital are human centric approaches and it is important to also consider the intrinsic value of wetlands that cannot be valued in monetary terms. The human benefit is not the only reason to be concerned about ecosystems. Based on ethical, philosophical, or cultural traditions, many consider some ecosystems as having intrinsic value, irrespective of whether they contribute to human welfare. Understanding the economic costs and benefits of using ecosystems is thus only one of many inputs that enter into decision making.