Improved wetlands analytics for achieving the goals of both the Ramsar Convention and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for wetlands monitoring

Abstract Wetlands are an important part of the Ramsar Convention (RC) and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), which is a significant agreement committing 196 countries (the United States is not a participant of KM-GBF) to a reduction and halting of the loss of biodiversity by 2030. In comparison to the broadly focused KM-GBF, goals of RC (172 contracting parties) are wetlands-focused such as “wise use” and protection of wetlands, selection of wetlands of “international importance”, and international collaboration. The goal of this study is to explore how improved wetlands analytics can help achieve the goals of both the RC and KM-GBF using the state of North Carolina (NC) in the United States of America (USA) as an example. Several goals and targets of KM-GBF are applicable to wetlands, with only a handful of indicators (e.g., wetland extent trends (WET) index) to monitor them. The WET index is only relevant at the global or continental scale because it relies on a limited database of wetland sites over time. Unfortunately, the WET index does not allow tracking of smaller spatial extents and new methods are needed to understand how wetlands are changing over time. Geospatial analysis results and recommendations are presented for both RC and KM-GBF. Loss of wetlands can result in transboundary damage, harming biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services (ES). A case study of NC showed that almost 49% of the wetland area was lost between 1780 and 1980 in the state. Wetlands loss in NC continued between 2001 and 2021. Future RC and KM-GBF refinements could use sea level rise analysis to evaluate changes in wetlands.