Figure 1. Estimated loss of wetland areas in different continents of the world.

Estimates of losses in wetland area after 1900 are shown in orange, with remaining wetland area in blue. Human developmental pressures, including urban and agricultural expansion, have resulted in substantive wetland losses across the globe, and climate change has exacerbated wetland loss in some continents. These losses have significant societal consequences, including increased floods, impaired water supplies and loss of biodiversity.