The RSPB’s reveals the hidden miracles of Britain’s waterworlds…

walk around a lake, marsh, peatland bog or reedbed can be a magical experience, but did you know that those wetlands are the unsung heroes of the countryside? It’s thought that freshwater wetlands are home to more than 40% of the world’s wildlife.

Now is a good time to give them some love, as February 2nd is World Wetlands Day. This annual event marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Ramsar Convention in 1971. There are now 169 nations signed up to this agreement, which promotes conservation of wetlands. In the UK 86 RSPB nature reserves are, or lie within, Ramsar sites. So here are just a few reasons why our wetlands are so special… Wetlands are crucial in fighting climate change. For example, peat bogs store more than twice the carbon held in all the world’s forests. As a whole, wetlands actually store over a third of the carbon on the planet. It’s been estimated they hold an amazing 300 to 700 billion tonnes of carbon. The more wetlands we have, the more carbon is trapped, which helps to reduce the severity of climate change. Wetlands support an incredible range of wildlife. In the UK this includes many rare and beautiful plants, animals and birds. There’s the amazing raft spider, an aquatic hunter which you may encounter on some RSPB nature reserves, including Arne. The bittern has bounced back in the UK thanks to conservation work including the protection and restoration of wetlands. And last year the Scottish Government officially recognised the beaver as a native species once more, partly in response to successful wetland schemes that have helped it to thrive.