THE SOURCE

2023 Annual Review
Wetlands International

WETLANDSINTERNATIONAL
IS THE ONLYGLOBAL NOT-FOR-PROFITORGANISATION
DEDICATED TO
THE CONSERVATION
AND RESTORATIONOF WETLANDS

What are wetlands?
Wetlands occur wherever water meets land –mangroves, peatlands, marshes, rivers, lakes,
deltas, floodplains, flooded forests,
ricefields, and even coral reefs.
Wetlands exist in every country across the worldand every type of region –polar, tropical, wet, dry, high and low altitude.
Healthy wetlands are key to restoring natureand healing our climate, yet the world has lost
two-thirds of wetlands since 1900.
Urgent action is needed to reverse this decline andrevive these natural wonders.
Our Vision
A world where wetlands are treasured
and nurtured for their beauty,
the life they support and the resources they provide.
Our Mission
To inspire and mobilise society to safeguard
and restore wetlands for people and nature.

Lake Chilika, India

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

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FROM OUR CEO

CEO, Management Team and Supervisory Council in Malindi, Kenya (November 2023)

The world is waking up to the critical importance of wetlands. If 2022
brought big global commitments – notably the Mangrove Breakthroughand the Global Biodiversity Framework – then 2023 was the yearof action. More countries committed to safeguarding and restoring
mangroves, and there were significant new finance pledges. A coalitionof governments launched the Freshwater Challenge, which seeks torestore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands. Ourcall for a global Peatland Push at the UN climate summit, to urgently
safeguard and restore peatland carbon stores, was widely supported.
More countries included wetland solutions within their national climatechange mitigation and adaptation plans.

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

‘The Blue Nile in Lake Tana, Ethiopia is a vital
wetland that is rich with sediment and supports 50%of the country’s freshwater resource, and reminds
us of the power, fragility and constantly changing
nature of wetland ecosystems’
Former CEO Jane Madgwick

In our own projects on the ground, we continued todemonstrate the benefits of healthy wetlands forcommunities, for biodiversity and for the climate.
Our work ranged from working with farmers in
the Pantanal to improve cattle grazing practices,to improve cattle grazing practices to prevent
fires, to supporting communities to manage scarcewater resources in the Sahel to prevent conflict,to strengthening livelihoods for fishers in Kenya
reducing the pressure on mangroves. We unlocked
funding for peatland restoration from Peru to Ireland
to Mongolia, and guided government principles for
mangrove restoration in Indonesia. Importantly, we
worked through partnerships like Blue Lifelines for a
Secure Sahel and the European WaterLANDS project
to take these efforts to scale, and we used ourconnections to influence policies, share knowledge
and best practices, and channel new finance towards
wetland conservation and restoration. We now must
continue to invest in strengthening our organisationto accelerate and scale up our impact.
This has been a year of transition for Wetlands
International, following the departure of our longserving CEO, Jane Madgwick. Jane joined Wetlands
International in March 2004, and was instrumental
in turning our organisation into the leading global
voice for wetlands, with a network of 19 offices
operating in many countries worldwide. Thanks
to her courage, passion and leadership, Wetlands
International stands ready to inspire and mobilise
action for wetlands on an unprecedented scale. We
are immensely grateful to Jane for her two decadesof service – and are delighted that she will continue
to have a role in our organisation as a lifelongCounsellor of Honour.

new Director of Network Development, drives andoversees institutional strengthening of our growing
global network. Ron van Leeuwen, our Directorof Resources, continues to provide strategic
leadership for the Finance, Governance, HR, Risk
& Compliance, and IT functions. I am also grateful
to our Supervisory Council, which guides andoversees our policies and strategy. This year, wewelcomed a new Chair, Jan Karel Mak, along withfour new members, Tiega Anada, Frederick Kwame
Kumah, Janet Nieboer and Helen O’Connor.
Finally, my thanks to all of our staff, partners andsupporters. We have achieved much together in thepast year, and we realise there is a lot to improveon still. I look forward to continue to work with you
preventing conflict to safeguard and restore theworld’s wetlands for people and nature.
Han de Groot
CEO, Wetlands International

Meanwhile, I have been deeply honoured to takeon the role of CEO as we start our search for apermanent successor. In this, I am grateful for the
support of our newly reconfigured Management
Team. Femke Tonneijck, our new Director of
Programme Impact, is responsible for overseeing
and guiding our major programmes to meet thegoals set out in our Strategic Intent. Maria Stolk, our5ANNUALREVIEW
2023
CONTENT

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FROM OUR CEO

14ACHIEVEMENTS
8HIGHLIGHTS

32
SUMMARY
OF FINANCE

26
FEATUREDPROJECTS

28FUNCTIONING
OF THEORGANISATIONThe Pozuelos Lagoon in the Puna region of Argentina is a High Andean wetland ofgreat importance for biodiversity and local communities. But it is under threat from
pollution from extensive mining activity, livestock overgrazing and pasture, andpeatlands degradation. Wetlands International works with local communities to bringabout sustainable grazing for cattle, while also restoring the wetland habitat andadvocating for better wetland management.

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

12
STRATEGIC
INTENT34
OUR OFFICES

36
THANK
YOU
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Mobilising finance will be a key challenge, so thelaunch of a practical finance roadmap – developedwith our partners at the Global Mangrove Allianceand the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions– was an important step forward. Governments
including Germany, Norway and the UK as wellas the Green Climate Fund, the UN Environment
Programme and the Bezos Earth Fund announced
new finance to address the drastic under-fundingof mangrove conservation. Complementing
these efforts, we secured a US$2 million grantfrom the Bezos Earth Fund to develop a pipelineof investible mangrove projects and establish a
Mangrove Breakthrough secretariat.

HIGHLIGHTS
Challenge accepted!
COP28 brings freshwater boost
The Freshwater Challenge was launched by six
countries – Colombia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Gabon,
Mexico and Zambia – at the UN 2023 Water
Conference in New York. By UNFCCC COP28 in
Dubai in December 2023, a further 38 countries
had joined the Freshwater Challenge, becoming
the world’s largest initiative to restore degradedrivers, lakes and wetlands and to protect vital
freshwater ecosystems.

The Freshwater Challenge aims to restore 300,000
km of degraded rivers – equivalent to more thanseven times around the Earth – and 350 million
hectares of degraded wetlands, which is anarea larger than India, as well as conserve intact
ecosystems. As one of the organisations supporting
the initiative since the very onset, we have been
providing technical knowledge and strategic
guidance, and have been pushing hard to bringmore governments on board.
Private sector organisations have pledged theirsupport to the country-led effort, including
IKEA and AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer.
Importantly, the Freshwater Challenge will takean inclusive, collaborative approach, working with
Indigenous people, local communities and otherwater users to co-create solutions to improve totackle the climate and nature crises.
Going forward, we will provide technical assistance,
facilitate knowledge exchange and support
resource mobilisation.
Explore more:
Water Action Agenda

Corredor Azul is a ten-year programme led by Wetlands
International and funded by DOB Ecology. The Corredor
Azul encompasses the fourth largest wetland system in
the world, the heart of which is the Paraná River and theParaguay River in South America.

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

Mangrove mapping in Lamu, Kenya

Mangrove
Breakthroughunlocks progress
Since the announcement of the Mangrove
Breakthrough at the UN Climate Change
Conference in 2022 (COP27), we have beena driving force in mobilising cross-sectoralcollaboration to conserve the world’s remaining
mangroves, restore half of recent losses and double
the area of mangroves under protection by 2030.

While the Mangrove Breakthrough offers huge
opportunities for mangrove restoration, it is criticalthat this is done right to ensure long-term benefits
for people, nature and climate. With partners fromthe Global Mangrove Alliance and the Blue Carbon
Initiative, we launched Best Practice Guidelines
for Mangrove Restoration endorsed by the world’s
leading scientists and practitioners. These sciencebased guidelines enable successful mangrove
restoration through community-based ecologicalrestoration approaches. They cover ecological,
social and financial factors that can make or break a
restoration project.
To further support restoration efforts, the Global
Mangrove Alliance also launched a Mangrove
Restoration Tracker Tool to help practitioners
record and monitor their progress. This will enable
better sharing of information and insights acrossmangrove restoration projects.
Explore more:
Mangrove Breakthrough – Financial Roadmap
Best Practice Guidelines
Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool

Inspired and based on data from the Global
Mangrove Watch that Wetlands International
convened, as well as our work as part of the Global
Mangrove Alliance, the Mangrove Breakthroughwill drive massive investment and mobilisation ofstate and non-state actors. At UNFCCC COP28 in
Dubai, more than 50 governments had endorsed
the Mangrove Breakthrough targets, representing
around 60% of the world’s mangroves. Ministers,
Indigenous peoples and local community
organisations, financial institutions, donors, NGOs
and other supporters presented progress andambitious commitments on policy, finance andtechnology to deliver the Breakthrough.

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Towards a Peatland Push
After the Mangrove Breakthrough and theFreshwater Challenge, is it time for a global Peatland
Push? That was the suggestion from Wetland
International at an official side event that we hosted
at UNFCCC COP28 highlighting the climate, waterand biodiversity benefits of peatlands.
Despite covering just 3% of the Earth’s surface,peatlands lock up 30 % of carbon stored on land,
more than twice the amount in all of the world’s
forests – so long as they remain wet. By acting
as natural sponges, they also reduce the risk ofboth droughts and floods. But 15% of the world’s
peatlands have been drained for agriculture, forestry
and grazing, and conversion continues, contributing
more than 5% of global GHG emissions (similar toaviation and shipping combined).
While agriculture is a leading cause of peatland
destruction, the relationship between peat andfood production doesn’t have to be a negative one.
Working with knowledge institutes, we develop
innovative solutions such as paludiculture sustainable wet agriculture on restored peatlands- which can support food production and livelihoods
while locking up carbon and maintaining the otherbenefits peatlands provide.

In northeast Germany, for example, farmers havebeen cultivating Typha, a flowering wetland
plant also known as cattail or bullrush, which
can be used for construction and insulationmaterials. Other potential high-value paludiculture
activities include harvesting peat moss for use inhorticulture and herding water buffalo. Meanwhile
in Indonesia, we’ve worked with communities togrow sago instead of oil palm on peatlands, which
is helping raise the water table while strengthening
livelihoods and food supplies. Further, in Malaysia
and Indonesia we work with the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil to avoid peatland drainage
and stimulate rewetting.
Explore more:
Towards a Global Stocktake for Peatlands
and Other High-Carbon Ecosystems: Status
and Scaling up Potential

Safeguarding and restoring peatlands are critical actions if the world is to meetclimate targets under the Paris Agreement. Our official side event at UNFCCC COP28,
moderated by Han de Groot (CEO) highlighted policies, funding, and best practices forkeeping these carbon sinks in tackling climate change. Femke Tonneijk, Director of
Programme Impact, called for the urgent creation of a global Peatland Push to secure
the future of peatlands, unlock finance, and galvanize collective action.
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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

Paludiculture - the sustainable wet agriculture on restored peatlands in Bederkesa,
Germany - supports food production and livelihoods while locking up carbon andmaintaining the other benefits peatlands provide.

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STRATEGIC INTENT
2020-2030
For this period, we are orientating our work toachieve three, interconnected global impacts:
healthy wetlands, resilient wetland communities,
and reduced climate risks.
Our vision, targets and strategic interventions areorganised in three streams: Coasts and Deltas,
Rivers and Lakes, Peatlands.
We measure our progress across these threestreams according to the following threeinterconnected global impacts and six outcomes.

We aim to help conserve aselection of the most intact wetland
ecosystems and restore others within
a full range of wetland types acrossthe world. We also aim to restore
other freshwater systems, peatlands,deltas and coastal ecosystems
for their intrinsic, cultural andecosystem-service values. We willprioritise ecological networks thatconnect landscapes, such as flyways
and swim-ways.

Wetland species
recoveredds for a healt
n
a
l
hie
et
w
rw
y
h
or
t
l
al
HEALTHYWETLANDS

COAST & DELTASRESILIENTCOMMUNITIESRIREDUCED
CLIMATE RISKS

VE
RS

&

LA

KE

S
PEATLANDS

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Wetland habitats andfunctions safeguarded
and restored

Building on our longtrack record for waterbird
conservation, we will contributeto the conservation of wetland
biodiversity by working on selected
flagship species and groups ofspecies linked to specific habitats.

d

HeOver 2020-2030 Wetlands
International aims to safeguard andrestore tens of millions of hectaresof wetlands, bringing multiple
returns for nature and people. Our
theory of change encapsulates thethree main phases of our work:
to inspire, mobilise and upscale.
These are the key ingredients of
our organisational strategy for theperiod 2020-2030.

Healthy
Wetlands

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

ResilientCommunities
Water and foodsecured for wetlandcommunities
We aim to prevent further
wetland loss and degradation that
undermines the natural productivity
and water storage capacities ofpeatlands, floodplains, mangrove
forests, deltas and lakes. We
aim to improve and diversify the
livelihoods of people dependent on
wetlands, and promote best practices
in agriculture and aquaculture,
integrating wetland values into the
local economy.

OUR
THEORYOFCHANGE

Reduced societal
conflict anddisplacementfrom wetlands
We will in particular strive to resolve
situations where deterioration of
wetlands - caused by upstream
abstraction, climate change or
population growth - contributes
to loss of livelihoods, human
displacement, conflict andmigration. Where necessary, we
will use peacebuilding and conflict
resolution measures to address
imbalanced power relations between
stakeholders, building capacity forvulnerable and marginalised people
to defend their rights to water andwetland resources.

UPSCALEMOBILISE

ReducedClimate Risks

INSPIRE

Wetland carbon storessecured and enhanced
We aim to bring wetlands
into activities to adapt toand mitigate climate change, which
is otherwise a threat to the integrityof all wetlands. Improving thecondition of peatlands, river systems
and coastal ecosystems such as
mangroves, salt marshes and seagrassbeds will also reduce their emissionsof greenhouse gases and return manyto their role as carbon sinks.

Wetland Nature-based
Solutions integrated
into infrastructuredevelopments
We aim to steer urban water
infrastructure investment and land
use planning towards using wetlands
to meet challenges such as water
insecurity and flooding that areconventionally addressed by civilengineering - an approach that oftencauses further loss and deteriorationof wetlands.

Inspire•••We translate science into
policy and practice
We demonstrate innovative
solutions
We show where the key
wetlands are and how they
are thriving or threatened

Mobilise••

We train practitioners andsupport decision makers
We build alliances aroundcompelling landscapevisions and global goals

Upscale••We create enabling policy
and investment
environments
We unlock finance forwetlands

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ACHIEVEMENTS
This section presents our 2023 achievements. These are organised along
our three streams of work (Coasts and Deltas, Rivers and Lakes, andPeatlands) and in relation to the ambitions laid out in our Strategic Intent
2020-2030.

OUR SCORING SYSTEM

On track toexceed target(we will achieve
the target
before 2030)

We expect toachieve thetarget by 2030

Substantial progress, but moretime is needed
to reach ourtargetSo far, there isno significant
overall progress

The situation isdeteriorating
and adaptive
management isneededCommunity-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration training in Mombasa, Kenya

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

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COASTS AND DELTAS
Goal: Safeguard and restore coastal wetland ecosystems as essential
features of resilient and productive coastal landscapes.

Healthy wetlands
2030 TARGET: Safeguard 2 million hectares of high value coastal wetlands,
including vital wildlife migration corridors

Working towards the ambitious goals of theMangrove Breakthrough, we have grown the Global
Mangrove Alliance to over 80 members. Member
organisations from civil society organisations andknowledge institutes have organised themselvesin 12 country chapters, which are currently
developing national mangrove strategies incountries including Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya and
Mexico. Beyond mangroves, we became a founding
member of the World Coastal Forum, playing anactive role in its efforts to conserve and restore
coastal ecosystems.
We’ve directly contributed to these initiatives
through landscape projects in Latin America,
Africa and Southeast Asia that have brought over
600,000 hectares of wetlands under improved

Lamu harbours approximately 61% of the Kenya’s mangrove forests. Wetlands
International has been working with the local communities, authorities, civil society
and research institutions towards mangrove forest restoration where women have a
50 per cent representation as they are mainly involved in restoration efforts.

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

management and restored more than 1,500
hectares of mangroves. These interventions havebeen replicated by others on a much larger scale.
To further upscale our efforts, we’ve developed
various tools and training materials. For example,
we trained hundreds of mangrove practitioners
across the tropics, and more than 4,200 users visit
the Global Mangrove Watch platform each month,
up more than 50% from 2022. We published andshared a roadmap for investment in mangrovesand guidelines on ecological mangrove restoration
approaches. In Japan, we developed a framework
for monitoring biodiversity in mudflats, seagrass,algal beds and rocky shores, while in China we
introduced an evidence-based approach to mudflat
restoration.

In Japan we developed a framework for monitoring biodiversity in mudflats, seagrass, algal beds and rocky shores.

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Resilient wetland communities
2030 TARGET: Integrate wetlands into 8 million hectares of coastal production systems
PROGRESS: We are slightly behind schedule. Most of our impact comes through policy
work which can be hard to attribute. We are working on this, while also planning to expand
our focus on commodities, such as aquaculture production and rice farming.

This year, we supported tens of thousandsof people to improve their livelihoods whilesafeguarding wetlands. In the Saloum Delta,
Senegal, more than 55,000 people are benefitingfrom sustainable mangrove-based livelihoods
and 81 women’s savings and loans groups haveprovided financial independence for 22,000
people. In Guinea Bissau, sustainable rice farming
is reviving 150 hectares of saline wastelands,
reducing pressure on mangroves elsewhere andproviding a compelling example for upscaling.

In the Parana Delta in Argentina, we supported
five artisanal fisher groups to add value totheir products and rolled out more sustainable
cattle ranching practices across 12 ranches
covering 18,000 hectares, and strengthened the
management plans for three protected areas.
In China, we supported 30 local authorities andcoastal zone managers to adopt evidence-based
conservation planning, including a focus on
restoring feeding habitat for migratory waterbirds
in former aquaculture landscapes.

RIVERS AND LAKES
Goal: Catalyse investment to safeguard and restore rivers, lakes andtheir accompanying wetlands as part of wider freshwater systems; andto provide water security for people and nature, climate resilience, andsustainable and peaceful landscapes.

Healthy wetlands
2030 TARGET: Safeguard 10 million hectares of high-value river and lake wetlands in fivebasinsReduced climate risks
2030 TARGET: Mainstream Building with Nature and promote blue carbon solutions,influencing €10 billion of investments in coastal infrastructure solutions.
PROGRESS: We are slightly behind schedule. We are making strategic recruitments tomobilise a large Nature-based Solutions initiative in Southeast Asia in and to strengthen
our internal capacity on conservation finance.

Together with the EcoShape consortium and Dutch
civil society partners, we launched a €120 million
innovation programme to demonstrate, document
and disseminate Nature-based Solutions in the
Netherlands. This programme complements
other initiatives such as a US$3.5 billion AsianDevelopment Bank investment programme that18

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

seeks to restore and maintain critical wetlands
along the East Asian-Australasian flyway. As part ofthis, together with Birdlife International and otherpartners, we identified 50 priority sites for migratorywaterbirds and helped define business cases forconservation and restoration of these sites.

While our Strategic Intent mentions five priority
river basins, our work to safeguard and restore
wetland habitats and functions now encompasses
more river basins – including progress this year
in Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia, Guinea, India,
Kenya, Mali, Senegal and the Philippines. This
has included supporting livestock grazing andfire management of key wetlands sites like thePantanal and Iberá marshes in South America,
and working with communities and government
on integrated water resource management in the
Niger and Volta basins in West Africa and Omobasin in East Africa. In the High Andes of Argentina
and Peru, we have supported communities withalternative livelihood choices such as sustainable
cattle grazing that help conserve wetlands andraised awareness of the impacts of lithium mining
on freshwater ecosystems. Our work is also
contributing to wetland species recovery suchas flamingos and pelicans in these landscapes.
To better capture this, we have developed astandardised system for monitoring biodiversity in
Ethiopia’s Central Rift Valley.

Ziway Shalla is a closed water basin, located in the Rift
Valley of Ethiopia, and is the country’s most important
wetland area. Our work there aims to secure a balanced
ecosystem and improve water security in the area. We do
this by supporting smallholder farmers by showcasing
best practices, introducing efficient irrigation systems, andundertaking watershed interventions at the most critical sites
to raise awareness about unsustainable land management,
subsequent erosion, and long-term consequences.

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Resilient wetland communities
2030 TARGET: Safeguard and restore 60 million hectares of wetlands as integral elements
of productive river and lake landscapes.
PROGRESS: We are behind schedule. We are at risk of not achieving this target and need toclarify how to account for direct and indirect achievements in productive landscapes.

From the High Andes to the Sahel, our country
programmes have worked across multiple wetland
landscapes to strengthen food and water security
for wetland communities, contributing to morestable incomes and greater resilience. This has
included work to improve the management of
natural resources. For example in the ZiwayShalla basin in Ethiopia we have developed awater allocation plan to resolve conflicts overaccess. In the Inner Niger delta, Mali, where
people’s livelihoods are affected by the increasing
variability in water availability due to climatechange and upstream water allocation decisions,
we have strengthen sustainable fisheries, andintroduced better grazing practices to minimise
impacts on rivers and wetlands. In Argentina
and Peru where we have decreased the pressure
on wetlands by implementing better grazing
management techniques with local communities.
Building communities’ resilience against climatechange was an important area of focus, as well asworking with women, young people, Indigenous
peoples and marginalised groups.

Reduced climate risks
2030 TARGET: €500 million committed to Nature-based Solutions in freshwater wetlands,
for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
PROGRESS: We have not made significant progress so far. We will focus on strengthening
our finance expertise, securing commitments from governments through the Freshwater
Challenge, and facilitating wetlands partnerships between the EU and key countries.

We were at the first UN Water Conference inalmost half a century in New York in March,ensuring wetlands and freshwater ecosystems
were high on the agenda. The main outcome of
the conference was the Water Action Agenda,
which contains over 700 voluntary commitmentsfrom governments, private sector, civil society andothers, adding up to more than US$300 billion.
The headline commitment was the launch of theFreshwater Challenge, as well as commitments
on water and sustainable development with theWater, Peace and Security partnership and on
water for climate and source-to-sea approaches.
We also saw progress on advancing the rights ofnature, including the rights of wetlands.

We also made progress working with communities
to enhance their capacity to identify andimplement Nature-based Solutions at the local
level. In Kenya, we secured a €875,000 investment
from the World Bank through their Financing
Locally-Led Clmate Action Programme, and inspired
other donors and partners including the Dutch
Embassy and Concern Worldwide to develop
sustainable fisheries and climate-smart agriculture
programmes around Brazil.

The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland on the planet sprawling across Brazil,
Paraguay and Bolivia. Yet in recent years, intensifying pressure from deforestation
driven by infrastructure development and land conversion are putting the survivalof the Pantanal in jeopardy.

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

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PEATLANDS
Goal: Scale up the conservation and restoration of peatlands as acontribution to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation andadaptation, and sustainable development – ensuring that all remaining
undrained peatlands stay intact, while 50 million hectares of drained
peatlands are restored by 2050.

Healthy wetlands
2030 TARGET: Safeguard over 20 million hectares of high-value peatlands, including
bringing five major peatland landscapes back into good ecological condition.
PROGRESS: We are slightly behind schedule. We are making progress to mobilise
governmental actors in restoring and safeguarding large peatland areas, we aredeveloping better systems for mapping high-value peatlands to understand where they
are, what state they are in and what the main threats are in order to focus climate andbiodiversity driven action at country level.

This year brought new protection status for
350,000 hectares of peatlands in Tierra del Fuego,
after we worked with the government of Argentina
to achieve Ramsar designation for Peninsula Mitre.
We helped develop guidelines for better managing
tens of thousands of hectares of peatlands in
Junín National Reserve, Peru. We have supported
a number of governments to identify and map
peatlands so they can be included in their national
climate and biodiversity plans as an enabling
condition to safeguard them. For example, wehave supported countries including Argentina,
Peru and Indonesia to incorporate peatlands into
their climate NDCs. In East Africa we worked ontransboundary peatlands in the Nile Equatorial
Lakes basin by working with communities andand on water management in Uganda. In theEU, meanwhile, the new Nature Restoration Law
proposes the restoration and rewetting of millionsof hectares of peatlands, in part a result of ouradvocacy efforts in partnership with others.
Through the Wet Horizons project, we helped
develop a GIS platform to guide peatland andwetland restoration, considering the needs of endusers in the process as a stepping stone towards a
Global Peatland Watch, building on the successesof the Global Mangrove Watch.

With support from Greenchoice, and working with partners Wildlife Science andConservation Center of Mongolia, and our knowledge partner Care for Ecosystems,
Wetlands International is restoring the hydrology of degraded peatlands in Mongolia

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Resilient communities
2030 target: Enable community-based conservation and restoration of 10 million hectaresof peatland.
PROCESS: We are slightly behind schedule. We are developing community-based solutions,unlocking private finance for peatland restoration at landscape scale. By pioneering novel
solutions and sharing our knowledge and experiences we catalyse further climate action.

We secured significant investment for largescale peatland restoration projects in Peru (2,600
hectares) and Mongolia (25,000 hectares) which
will deliver impact for indigenous communities
and nomadic herders over the next five years
with significant upscaling opportunities. Througha community-based approach, we improve
local socio-economic conditions and long-term
livelihoods such as herding yak, and increase
protection of endangered flora and fauna such as
the beautiful and rare endemic and endangered
Junin Grebe (with fewer than 360 individuals
remaining), Junin Rail and the Lake Junin Frog,
once believed to be extinct. In Europe, we worked
with Rewilding Europe to test the possibilities
of commercially funded (carbon funding)peatland restoration delivered in partnershipwith communities in Ireland, Scotland, Lithuania
and Poland. We released a report with LandscapeFinance Lab on how to mobilise investor-driven
funding for community-based peatland restoration.
Bringing government and landowners on board is acomplex process, but we’ve been making progress,
developing partnerships and knowledge, and at
least one large-scale project has been agreed in
Ireland. Long-term, large-scale impact depends onstrong partnerships and co-creation approaches,
and we’re developing a framework to guidecollaborative processes in peatland restoration.
We have also been using knowledge on where andhow to restore wetlands and peatlands in Europe to
influence the EU Nature Restoration and Soil Healthlaws improving the state of millions of hectares ofpeatlands across Europe over the next decade.

Reduced climate risks
2030 target: Reduce the impact of peat-based industries in 10 million hectares ofpeatlands, with a focus on palm oil, pulp and timber.
PROCESS: We are on track. Our work on palm oil alone covers 4.5 million hectares of
production landscapes, a large proportion of which are peatlands.

The relationship between peatland and land use
has been on the agenda this year, after we used theplatform of UNFCCC COP28 to highlight the impactsof growing commodity crops on drained peatlands– including the release of stored carbon and lossof habitat. We’ve been working with members of
the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to limit
impacts on peatlands in Indonesia and Malaysia,
as well as making sure this is on the agenda ofimporting companies and countries – including
through the EU Deforestation Law. As a board

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

member of Responsibly Produced Peat (RPP), we
engaged with European governments to drasticallyreduce peat use in domestic horticulture, while in
East Africa, we worked with communities to raiseawareness of the negative consequences of peat
extraction by tree nursery operators and smallscale coffee farmers.
Wetlands International, with the support of Greenchoice and other partners, isimproving peatland management in Lake Junín, Peru. Through a community-based
approach, the project aims to improve local socio-economic conditions and longterm livelihoods, and increase protection of endemic flora and fauna.

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FEATURED PROJECTSTrans-European Swimways
Programme

Greenchoice
Mongolia

Water Dialogues

To Plant or not
To Plant

Lake Junin

Corredor Azul

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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

Mangrove
Capital Africa

SaWeL

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FUNCTIONING OF
THE ORGANISATIONOur network

Wetlands International
operates as a global
network of offices
with shared values
and purpose, working
on a joint strategy tosafeguard and restore
wetlands worldwide.
We have offices in 19 countries
and we are active in many more.
In 2023, we opened a new project
office in Sierra Leone, attached to
our West Africa Coastal Office basedin Senegal, and closed our office inRussia, where we have now halted allactivities due to the war.
The Global Office, based in the
Netherlands, facilitates work acrossthe network and provides leadershipand support in representation,
programme development,
communications, global advocacy,fundraising, and risk management.
It nurtures the work of the networkand ensures we are all alignedwith decisions taken by the Global
Management Team, Global Board,
Network Management Team, andProgramme Leadership Team.
The Global Board, consisting of the
Wetlands International CEO and all
Heads of Office, is responsible forstrategic decisions on positioning,priority setting and institutional
issues, which are then adopted by
the Global Management Team. The

28

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

Global Board delegates operational
decision-making to the Network
Management Team, which has
members drawn from Heads of Officeand senior global functions. The
Programme Leadership Team leads
policy and proposal development andprepares them for decision-making.

GovernanceWetlands International is a nonprofit organisation with charitablestatus in the Netherlands and incountries where it operates. The
organisation has two complementary
forms of international governance:
an Association of Members(governments and NGOs), anda foundation overseen by aSupervisory Council whose members
also constitute the Board of the
Association. In cases where Wetlands
International offices have an
independent legal status, they aregoverned by their own boards andthe organisation’s CEO is an ex-officio
member.

Strengthening our organisation
2023 was a year of transition for
Wetlands International, with a
new CEO, a reconfigured Global
Management Team, and several new
members joining our Supervisory
Council. We embarked on a journeyin which country offices and our
network-wide streams – Coasts
and Deltas, Rivers and Lakes, andPeatlands – prepared a Strategic
Review and Plan to pinpoint where
we are now and what it will taketo reach our 2030 goals. Informedby this effort, we will be preparing
dedicated office development plans
and a joint Network Development

Risk management

Plan that will strengthen ourorganisational foundations so that weare well equipped – organisationally,financially, professionally – toscale up. We are and will continue
supporting our network of offices
to address needs in leadershipskills, structure and governance,
finance and operations, project andknowledge management and impact
monitoring. We will set up a newteam focusing on strengthening
our monitoring, evaluation andlearning, and assisting our network
in a systematised approach toholistic landscape restoration.
Our recent investments in the “4Returns” framework guidebook andrelated tools will help landscapepractitioners to work on this together.
During 2023 we invested in the
network teams to drive joint workon partnerships, philanthropy andgeneral fundraising. Through better
coordination as a network, we
aim to improve proposal writing,develop critical fundraising assets
and materials, launch a mentorshipprogramme, and develop donor
stewardship and corporate
engagement plans.
While this work is still ongoing, weare now in a much better position
to work together as a network, toovercome challenges and harness
opportunities, enabling us to meet
our ambitious goals during thisvitally important decade.

Annual Leadership Meeting 2023
The Annual Meeting in November
2023, in Malindi, Kenya hosted by
our Eastern Africa Office, brought

A risk register for the network is
updated regularly and discussed atleast once a year with the Supervisory
Council. We consider the organisation
to be in a good position to deal
with these risks, due to its stronger
financial position, which means that
we can take mitigation measures more
quickly when required.

THE TOP 5 RISKS IN DECEMBER 2023:
Risk area

Risk

Potential Impact

Mitigation measures

1

Operational

Impact of AI on
our operations(positive/negative)
as a knowledgeorganisation

Can improve efficiency andproductivity. AI will change
the nature of knowledge
functions, such as ours.
We cannot oversee those
consequences yet

Make inventory of in-house AI use,
get external support for use to fullpotential.

2

Operational

Insufficient staff
capacity and skills todeliver complex, cofunded international
projects

Inability to absorb
and implement newopportunities

Proposal design includes
organisational development
wherever possible. Close cooperation
with Heads of Office on capabilities
and development needs. Additional
recruitment support in the Global
Office and the network.

3

Governance

Political instability(conflict in Ukraine,
Mali and Middle East,
Europe swinging
right affecting
climate policy &funding)

Programme operations andfunding is greatly reduced

Maintain close contacts with Heads
of Office, diplomatic networks anddonors. Strengthen cooperation
with local communities. Incorporate
flexibility in project design.

4

Operational

Tight labour market
slowing recruitment
and leading to gaps
in staffing and stressfor current staff – innetwork offices andGlobal OfficeInability to implement
current programmes
correctly or to start
new ones and overwork
symptoms among staff

Support offered to address Eastern
Africa vacancies (S2S); extra (interim)
capacity added to Global Office staff;
greater use of external recruitment
agencies; improve our marketing of
vacancies.

5

Financial

Insufficient quality
and late submissionof audits from offices(local partners’
finance reports are
insufficient)

Delays in reports, cashflow
and ultimately an impact on
reputation

Investing in network support
functions (senior finance staff), to becovered eventually by regular projectbudgets; training and capacity
building in project implementation(also for partners)

29

GLOBAL OFFICESOCIAL REPORT 2023

Annual Meeting with Program Leadership Team, Supervisory
Council, Management Team and Heads of Office in Malindi, Kenya

22 MALES
25 FEMALES
together programme and officeheads, our new Global Management
Team and the Supervisory Council.
This strategic meeting was a chance
to assess collective progress, discussoutcomes from the strategic review
process, and sharpen priorities toaccelerate and upscale our impact
for the years ahead. It also included
a visit to the mangrove forest of
Mida Creek which included valuable
exchanges with local community
conservation groups. The Global
Board met to confirm the key
decisions and actions, including
investing in monitoring, evaluationand learning systems, fundraisingpriorities, reassessing the scope ofour biodiversity work, and further
strengthening our theory of change.
Earlier in the year, a special faceto-face meeting was held at the
Global Office in July after the new
management team was set up to
work together on a transition plan, an
institutional development roadmap
and vision, and our strategic andbusiness planning. The meeting
included an inspiring field visit toMarker Wadden, a Building with
Nature site in the Netherlands

Accountability
Transparency and accountability
are core values, and we actively

30

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

seek feedback on our performance.
A dedicated webpage provides
our annual reports and accounts,
and information about key global
policies including the Conservationand Human Rights Framework, INGO
Accountability Framework, Code of
Conduct, Corporate Engagement,
Anti-corruption, Ethical, Gender andPartnership policies. In 2023 Wetlands
International made no changes tothese policies.

Anti-corruption andwhistle blowing
All staff are introduced to the anticorruption policy in their induction
and are encouraged to be vigilant
and discuss any suspicious activities
with their line manager or Head of
Office. External stakeholders can also
approach Wetlands Internationalwith any grievances or complaints
related to possible cases of fraud,
discrimination or mismanagement.
The complaints procedure is available
on the Wetlands International
website. At the end of 2023 we
received a fraud complaint related
to our Tanzania Office. The Global
Management Team commissioned an
independent investigation. The caseproved to be minor in financial terms
and the required measures were taken
including staff dismissal and stricter
checks on procurement and expense

payments. All donors were informed
and the case has been closed.
Corporate social responsibility
We strive to reduce any negative
impact on the environment inour daily operations and act in asustainable and socially responsible
way, by choosing the most carbon
friendly travel options whenpossible and only travelling whennecessary, preferably opting for
online meetings. Since travel is themost important part of our footprint,
we fully compensate for the CO2
emissions from all company flights
and train journeys. In 2023, our CO2
footprint from travel was 359 tonnes,
which corresponds to about 11
tonnes per full-time equivalent staff.

HIGHEST LEVELEDUCATION
Phd 8 / Master 27
Bachelor 10 / Other 2

18
NATIONALITIESHEALTH
Sick leave 3.2%
Absenteeism frequency 1,2

45,

9

AVERAGE AGE

CONTRACT TYPE
Permanent 31 / Temporary 16

47

0

STAFF

INTEGRITYCOMPLAINTS

Total number december
FTE 40 / PT 12 / FT 35

In 2023 we sought todevelop the staff capacity
we need to deliver our
strategy and emerging
project portfolio.
We employed 14 new staff members,
while 10 staff members left moving
within our network or to pursue otheropportunities. We engaged more
people from abroad and rearranged
various HR processes. Our updated
HR plan seeks to support for personal
development and training, foster
teamwork and ensure a pleasantworking environment for all staff.
As part of this, we supported the
Employee Participation Group to
set up a Works Council to enhance
two-way communication between
management and staff in key
decision-making.
Personal safety and integrity are apriority for Wetlands International.
We have policies and practices about
the behaviour staff can expect fromeach other and we endeavour tocreate a safe space to share concerns
or complaints as they occur. The
Global Office received no official
complaints from staff in 2023.
We continue to give attention toawareness and training on behaviour,transparency and integrity.

Internal 0 / External 0

31

SUMMARY OF FINANCE
AND RESOURCING

Income and expenditures acrossour network
The total network project income
was €22.4 million in 2023. In
2023, network offices received
and managed 34% of total income
directly from our donors. This ishigher than in 2022 (28%), mainly
thanks to larger programmes now
being led by country or regional
offices directly. Projects managed
through the Global Office are mostly
implemented by our network offices
or by affiliated scientific institutions,partners and experts.
The main source of income in 2023
was from foundations, trusts andother non-profits at 56% (compared
to 50% last year). Income fromgovernment grants made up a
relatively smaller proportion at 36%
this year (compared to 43% lastyear). In addition, 7% (5% last year)
came from corporate funding throughour collaboration agreements.
Membership contributions declined
from 2% in in 2022 towards 1%

32

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

5%of total income in 2023. These
contributions remain an important
support for strategic investments
such as enabling our waterbird
monitoring work.

PER
STREAM

56%
56%

PER
DONOR

36%

39%

A full list of our projects can befound in the Annex, section 4. This
list provides an overview of projects
implemented in 2023 by office andincludes the stream, amount funded,
donor and donor type.
Across our three streams, Coasts
and Deltas accounted for the largest
portion of our income at 56% (lastyear 50%). Rivers and Lakes totalled
39% compared to 43% last year due
to two large programmes coming toan end, and Peatlands contributed
5% (down from 8%, mainly due to
one large programme ending).

Looking ahead
To realise our ambitions, we needto further invest in strengthening
our organisation. We appeal toour donors to partner with us inthis journey and unlock the fullpotential of the world’s wetlands intackling the climate and biodiversity
emergencies.
By strengthening our capacity
to deliver our mission, theseinvestments will have a huge
multiplier effect. It will enable
us to grow our influence andimpact and leverage new financing
and partnerships for wetland
conservation and restoration,
generating massive benefits forpeople, nature and the climate.

56% COASTS & DELTAS

7% CORPORATE

5% PEATLANDS

36% GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION

39% RIVERS & LAKES

56% TRUST, FOUNDATIONS & NON-PROFIT
1% MEMBERSHIPTOTAL INCOME NETWORK AND GLOBAL OFFICEMILLION EUROThis is a summary of
Wetlands International’s
finances and resourcing in
2023. Detailed versionsof the Annual Accountsof the Global Office canbe found in Annex 1 &2
and the full Wetlands
International Project List
in Annex 3..

SOURCE OF INCOME GLOBAL NETWORK

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2010

2021

2022

2023 BUDGET
2024

PROJECT INCOME GLOBAL OFFICEPROJECT INCOME NETWORK33

WETLANDSINTERNATIONAL
OFFICES
4
5

19

16

13
6
America
1
		
2
3
		

Latin America& Caribbean Panama
BrazilLatin American& Caribbean Argentina

8
7

1

17

9
10

11
12

14

15
18

Europe452Global office
EuropeAfrica
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

West Africa Coastal
Guinea-Bissau
Sahel
Ethiopia
UgandaEastern Africa
Tanzania

3

Asia
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

34

South Asia
Malaysia
Brunei
China
Philippines
Indonesia
Japan

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

35

THANK YOU
Our targets for 2030 are hugely ambitious. We are seeking to safeguard
and restore wetlands on a scale never seen before. And we can only dothis by working in collaboration with others.
We are grateful to all our partners, existing andnew, who have helped us mobilise action for
wetlands and scale up our impact in 2023 – fromnational and local governments to knowledge
institutions, civil society organisations and theprivate sector. Thanks too to all our members who
provide vital financial support and collaborateclosely in our programmes and policy advocacy.

•

We thank our strategic partners and donors who
contributed so generously in 2023 to our workfor the safeguarding and restoration of wetlands
worldwide. We specifically thank donors who
contributed flexibly to core resources and thematic
funds, enabling us to enhance our global presence
and foundational programming, and to deliveron our mandate for people and nature. In 2024
we look forward to continuing to work together
to strengthen our organisation further, grow ourinfluence, accelerate our profile, and leverage newfinancing and partnerships for wetlands worldwide.

•

We would especially like to thank our major donors
in 2023:•••
Wetlands International collaborated with local partners in Lake Turkana, Kenya, to.to promote the regeneration and improved management of rangelands, sustainable
livelihoods and ecosystem functioning. This led to a local leaders’ dialogue, followed
by a pilot restoration of 600 hectares of the Parar and Kapua rangelands with foxtail
buffalo grass to preserve pastures for people and nature.

36

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

The COmON Foundation, for providing vitalcore funding to make our organisation more
effective, as well as supporting our work to
integrate wetlands and water issues into
the 4 Returns methodology for landscaperestoration in partnership with Commonlandand Landscape Finance Lab.
The Dutch Postcode Lottery, for an invaluable
three-year grant (2021-2023) enabling us
to step up our work on wetland landscaperecovery.

•

•

•

•

The Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida), for funding“Wetlands 4 Resilience”, an ambitious 10year global wetland initiative that seeks to
influence policies, investments and businesspractices to regenerate wetland landscapes.
Sida also funds our Source to Sea work that
addresses the drivers of the loss of wetlands
and their biodiversity in Eastern Africa.
Swiss Agency for Development andCooperation (SDC) for supporting us on thepath towards safeguarding Sahelian wetlands.
Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) for
supporting wetlands conservation withintegrated water resource management under
the Ziway-Shalla Basin-in-Balance program.
DOB Ecology, for supporting major, longterm programmes to conserve and restore
mangroves in Africa, and to conserve the river
and wetland system of the Paraná-Paraguay
and the High Andean wetlands in SouthAmerica.
The International Climate Initiative (IKI) of theGerman Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, forenabling our work in the Sahel, West Africa andIndonesia.
Arcadia, for enabling our work to help conserveand restore intertidal wetlands along the
Yellow Sea coast in China, a critically importantpart of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway for
migratory waterbirds.
Rewilding Climate Solutions for supporting thedevelopment of carbon landscape propositions
for peatland restoration and attracting further
funding for upscaling.

37

•

•

•

Greenchoice, for supporting Wetlands
International in restoring mangroves in GuineaBissau and supporting peatland restoration
projects in Mongolia (25,000 hectares) andPeru (2,600 hectares).
All the donors who fund the Global Mangrove
Alliance, and in particular the Oak Foundation,
DOB Ecology, COmON Foundation and theDutch Postcode Lottery for their support for
the Global Mangrove Watch platform.
The Bezos Earth Fund for its catalytic support
for the Mangrove Breakthrough, which will
help establish coalition-building of technical,
political and financial partners, the design ofregional investment strategies and curation ofa pipeline of locally-led mangrove restorationand conservation projects.

•

•

•

Delegations of the European Union in
Panama and Senegal for supporting our workin strengthening coastal marine governancein Panama and mangrove management inWest Africa.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for
its long-term support to the Water Peace &Security programme, at the cutting edge ofthe crucial poverty/climate interface andchallenge.
Donors who fund our work through theeffective giving platform Effektiv-Spenden.

Thank you to all donors, partners, local actors
on the ground, communities and traditional andIndigenous people we work with.

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ColofonCopyright© 2024 Wetlands International

Published by Wetlands International
P.O. Box 471
6700 AL Wageningen
The Netherlands

Design and Layout
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EditorJulien Anseau
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Laguna Colorada in process of restoration. Tuksa, Salinas Grandes, Argentina

38

Wetlands International Annual Review 2023

39

Oyster farming in Saloum delta, Senegal
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