The City of Boston observed World Wetlands day for the first time Tuesday, after the City Council adopted a resolution to officially recognize the holiday last week.
World Wetlands Day commemorates the Feb. 2, 1971 signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which internationally acknowledged the value of preserving and maintaining wetlands, and serves as a day to raise global awareness on wetlands protection.
Kathleen McCabe, president of the Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association, said the city’s official recognition of the holiday was “wonderful,” adding it is important for Bostonians to recognize the natural resources the city has to offer.
“I can go about my day, and I don’t normally think about wetlands,” McCabe said. “But wetlands are really an important part of green infrastructure, and they add a lot to our quality of life.”
City Councilors Matt O’Malley and Annissa Essaibi-George brought the resolution forward Jan. 27 in partnership with local organizations like LANA and concerned residents throughout Boston. It passed unanimously.
“I think the Boston City Councilors are pretty attuned to the importance of climate resiliency,” McCabe said. “We had been regularly talking with Councilor O’Malley and our city councilors … there was no opposition, so we were really pleased with that.”
Wetlands house 40 percent of the world’s flora and fauna, pull in and store atmospheric carbon and serve as flood buffers — barriers which hold back and slow water runoff — according to the resolution. Coastal wetlands also help prevent tidal surges and reduce damage caused by hurricanes.
Massachusetts has more than 590,000 acres of wetlands, according to the U.S. Fish and Water Service’s National Water Summary.
“They’re beautiful, they’re useful, they’re good for more than humans,” said Kannan Thiruvengadam, a Sierra Club executive committee member. “We need biodiversity to be preserved for our planet to remain healthy and livable for all of us.”
The resolution cited development and industrialization as dangers to wetlands worldwide, which are being destroyed at a “rapid pace.”
McCabe and Thiruvengadam both cited the recently-passed Local Wetlands Ordinance — which O’Malley supported — in helping combat this issue.
“Among my most proud legislative victories was working with @wutrain to advance and pas the Local Wetlands Ordinance in 2019,” Councilor O’Malley tweeted Monday.
Thiruvengadam worked to help pass the ordinance two years ago, but said there’s still progress to be made on wetlands conservation in Boston.
“It takes a while for an ordinance that’s passed to become regulations that the regulatory bodies can then enforce,” he said. “That’s still in process … We need to expedite that so that the protection work can happen sooner than later.”
In the meantime, environmental organizations, residents and activists aren’t stopping their fight for climate equity and increased awareness, McCabe said, especially toward the conservation of inland wetlands like the Roslindale wetland.
“As coastal cities, we immediately think about wetlands on the waterfront, like the Belle Isle Marsh in East Boston, but there’s also inland wetlands in many neighborhoods,” McCabe said. “We thought it would be important to celebrate some of the lower-profile wetlands in Boston.”
While a celebration of World Wetlands Day is normally an in-person event for groups such as the Sierra Club or LANA, McCabe said residents should take part while following COVID-19 precautions.
McCabe recommended self-guided walks and Thiruvengadam said virtual discussions could be a way to reminisce on last year’s celebration.
“We have a day to celebrate and that’s a good thing,” Thiruvengadam said. “We can’t be worried about everything every day, so taking one day to think about what it means to us … and enjoy the wetland that’s near you.”
