Assessment of community dependence and perceptions of wetlands in the Upper Chindwin Basin, Myanmar

Wetland ecosystems and civilizations have maintained dynamic relationships for millennia. Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems that provide a vast array of ecosystem functions and services to humans. Reclamation of wetlands, changing climate, fires, and surface and groundwater extraction have made wetlands among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Since the turn of the 20th century, a significant proportion of the world’s wetlands (i.e., 64%–71%) has been lost to degradation, with the most substantial large-scale transformation occurring in Asia. Land use and land cover change have been identified as among the major drivers of wetland loss. Degradation and conversion of wetlands adversely impact the productivity of land, habitats, and resources, and often the poorest communities are directly dependent on the functions and services of these wetland ecosystems.