President’s Message

The more things change, the more they

remain the same. I recently realized that I have been teaching the same undergraduate Environmental Issues course for 18 straight years! Each year, I lecture about human population growth, loss of biodiversity, importance of indigenous people, cultural diversity and social justice, climate change, food and water scarcity, wetland and other habitat losses, Loretta Battaglia, Ph.D. and a myriad of other issues. I tell the Southern Illinois class about different perspectives on the University environment, especially emphasizing SWS President John Muir’s biocentric approach that acknowledges the right of other species to exist. I update the materials with new information and examples, but the message is generally the same every year: we have some serious ecological problems on Planet Earth, most of which are not going away without creative solutions, hard choices, and education. Sure, there have been some success stories (e.g., phasing out chlorofluorocarbons to heal the ozone layer, development of more green energy technologies, recovery of several imperiled species), but many problems seem to be worsening. As the human footprint continues to expand, the rest of the biosphere shrinks.

Maybe it’s the Covid-19 pandemic, or 2020 in general, that focused my attention, but last year and this year, I really took notice of the trends. The human population has grown, just since I began teaching the class, from ~6.4 billion in 2003 to ~7.8 billion this semester in 2021 (https://www.worldometers. info/world-population/). Global temperatures have risen (19 of the warmest years on record have occurred since 2000), and sea level continues to rise (3.3 mm yr-1 on average; https://climate. nasa.gov/). Globally, we have already lost more than 50% of our wetlands, and the rate of loss has increased in the 20th and 21st centuries (Davidson 2014). Indeed, there has been a lot of change, but unfortunately more of the same in many instances, and in the wrong direction.

Very recently, we have seen efforts that should awaken us all and give us the seeds for real and positive environmental change. There are many examples, but here are two exciting ones from the wetland world. • In January 2021, more than 111 aquatic science societies across the globe (including SWS) sounded a very loud and frightening alarm about climate change impacts on freshwater and marine ecosystems and the need to act expeditiously to avoid additional and potentially cataclysmic degradation (Bonar 2021, list of 111 signatories therein). This paper has been, and continues to be, shared far and wide, opening eyes and hopefully shaping new policies. • At the same time, the SWS Climate Change and Wetlands Initiative has developed the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands, which acknowledges the many values of wetlands, their right to exist, as well as the important connections between people, particularly indigenous groups, and wetlands (Davies et al. 2020). After reading this paper, I presented the concept to my class as a fresh approach that is gaining traction. It reminds me of Muir’s biocentrism model of conservation, which also illustrates the strong, sometimes sacred connections between people and nature.

Our wetlands, and Planet Earth in general, are in need of thoughtful, careful stewardship. We should not be content to repeat the old adage that is the title of this address or to take comfort in it, as it relates to the environment. We need clear acknowledgement of the problems, bold ideas and creative solutions to replace the twin temptations of apathy and gloom, and we need to take steps to put us on a forward trajectory of positive change. n

REFERENCES

https://climate.nasa.gov/. Accessed February 9, 2021. Bonar, S. A. 2021. More than 100 aquatic-science societies sound climate alarm. Nature 589: 352. Davidson, N. C. 2014. How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area. Marine and Freshwater Research 65:936-941. Davies, G. T., C. M. Finlayson, D. E. Pritchard, N. C. Davidson, R. C. Gardner, W. R. Moomaw, E. Okuno and J. C. Whitacre. 2020. Towards a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands. Marine and Freshwater Research. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20219 www.worldometers.info/world-population/. Accessed February 9, 2021.

SWS Policy News

SWS ISSUES COMMENT LETTER ON THE USACE PROPOSAL TO REISSUE AND MODIFY NATIONWIDE PERMITS

The recent USACE proposal to Reissue and Modify Nationwide Permits (85 FR 179; Docket ID No. COE-2020-0002) was published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2020 with an invitation to submit comments. The proposal includes off-cycle reissuance of existing NWPs, changes to the associated general conditions and definitions, and five proposed new permits. Click here (SWS Comment Letter) to read the comment letter submitted on behalf of the Society of Wetland Scientists. n

SWS JOINS OTHER SOCIETIES IN FILING AMICI BRIEF IN DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Society of Wetland Scientists joined eight other national and international scientific societies, who are all actively involved in research, education, conservation and restoration of aquatic resources and ecosystems in filing an Amici Brief in the District of Massachusetts in support of The Conservation Law Foundation suit against the EPA to repeal the new definition of the Waters of the US. See the brief. n