Wetlands are now recognised globally as a cornerstone and focal point of economic development in both the developed and developing worlds. Fish production is leading the way as an income earner but it is closely followed by ecotourism. Wetlands such as Kakadu National Park in Australia, the Okavango in Botswana and the Pantanal in South America are visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year and through this the local economies benefit. In many countries the harvesting of reed beds from wetland areas for producing paper and basketry is a vital part of economic growth. Climatic benefits .
Wetlands also provide climatic benefits, both at the macro and micro level.
Evapo-transpiration from wetlands maintains local humidity and rainfall levels. In forested wetlands, much of the rainfall is evaporated or transpired from the trees back into the atmosphere, and then falls as rain again in the surrounding area. If the wetland is destroyed, the amount of local rainfall will decrease with adverse effect on local crop yields. Protecting wetlands can have a global impact on the water problem. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and in every climate from the tropics to the tundra.