Wetlands are considered to be the world’s most productive ecosystems. Yet, they are being lost at an alarming rate from land conversion and land use changes driven by agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation. Wetlands’ hydrological regimes are also increasingly impacted by climate change. There are no accurate, reliable and accessible data depicting the speed and scale of wetland changes. Consequently, policy makers and practitioners do not have the information they need to take informed decisions that prioritise and protect these high-value ecosystems.

Global Wetland Watch (GWW) preview launched on World Wetland Day

The Global Wetland Watch is a new initiative with the aim of filling this critical global data gap. This new wetland information system will generate high-resolution maps and statistics that detail near real-time changes to different wetland ecosystems across the globe. The system will make this information readily available at national and ecosystem scales down to a 10-metre resolution.

Discover what’s possible with the Global Wetland Watch storymap:
Global Wetland Watch Storymap

Explore the Global Wetland Watch data preview:
https://map.globalwetlandwatch.org/

The full Global Wetland Watch system, including global data coverage, statistical dashboards, data and reporting tools, official boundaries, documentation and analysis features, will be launched in December 2026.

The data and information generated by the Global Wetlands Watch can support country commitments and ambitions towards national targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and other multilateral environmental agreements.

An open invitation to collaborate

Global Wetland Watch is a collaboration between UNEP, the UNEP-DHI Centre, DHI, and a growing partner network. This includes the Google Earth Engine team and Google.org who supported and funded of this initiative as well as the GEO wetland community who helped shape how we address the wetland challenges we face.

Please share your feedback and help us shape how the initiative develops.

Get in touch: info@globalwetlandwatch.org