Policy goals are more likely to be achieved when national policies consider all interlinked properties of wetlands; water management cannot be separated from land use management, fisheries, or green-house gas balance. Ensuring that conservation or development plans that affect wetlands are holistic and consider down-stream effects will improve outcomes and help avoid unintended consequences.
- Inventory and review existing national policies relating to wetlands with an eye on using a watershed approach and identifying conflicting or inconsistent goals, overlapping or unclear responsibility among governmental departments and entities, and gaps in communication. Identifying and addressing these issues would enable more effective governance of wetlands and balancing conservation and Indigenous and other user needs to achieve more effective stewardship.
- Ensure that national conservation or development plans that impact wetlands meaningfully engage Arctic communities, Indigenous Peoples, and stakeholders to consider the broader landscape impacts of changes to wetlands, including developments that may affect wetlands within river basins.
