SJIF IMPACT FACTOR: 4.183 CRDEEPJournals International Journal of Environmental Sciences Fikirte & Mare Vol. 4 No. 3 ISSN: 2277-1948 126 Online version available at: www.crdeep.com International Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 4 No. 3. 2015. Pp. 126-138 ©Copyright by CRDEEP. All Rights Reserved Full Length Research Paper Human Development and Wetland Conservation Policy Fikirte Demissie Tulu ab and Mare Addis Desta bc a Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Darr, Ethiopia. b Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia c Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wollo University, Wollo, Ethiopia. *Corresponding author: Fikirte D.T. Abstract Wetlands are estimated to cover about 4 to 6% of the world’s land. Wetlands provide many important services to human society. They are also among the most important and productive ecosystems on the earth due to their functions and attributes. The focus of this paper is to review human development and wetland conservation policy. The research methodology involved a comprehensive and systematic review of existing literature, an interview, and case studies. Review of the cases reveals that wetlands have played a significant role in the growth of human civilizations and cultural development. In Ethiopia wetlands' are distributed in different parts of the country, in almost all ecological and altitudinal ranges covering approximately 2% of its total surface area. But excessive drainage for various purposes such as agriculture and eradication of mosquito, filling for various purposes such as settlement, blocking Feeder Rivers, pollution and mining are among the activities that affect wetlands on site. Ethiopia lacks a specific policy on wetlands that enshrines wetlands of the land from deleterious actions that affect their contribution to the national development. In a nutshell, lack of a comprehensive wetlands policy and implementing law coupled with the absence of an institution duly empowered to issue and implement wetland laws and coordinate management activities is the underlying cause for the deterioration of the wetlands of Ethiopia. Therefore, it is recommended for the country like Ethiopia to Ratify Ramsar would enhance the concern for protection and wise utilization of wetlands and policy formulation. Key words: Ramsar convention, Wetlands, Policy, Wise use, Drainage, Ecosystem, Services. Introduction Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2013:1) defines wetlands as "a wide variety of habitats such as marshes, peat lands, floodplains, rivers and lakes, and coastal areas such as salt marshes, mangroves, and sea grass beds, but also coral reefs and other marine areas no deeper than six meters at low tide, as well as human-made wetlands such as waste-water treatment ponds and reservoirs". According to Mitsch and Gosselink (2000) wetlands are estimated to cover about 4 to 6% of the world’s surface. Wetlands are a phenomenon of flat terrain that occurs everywhere such as in river basins, from the head waters to the floodplains and the coastal zones. They also frequently develop in steeper terrains as groundwater discharge points. The Groundwater fed steep wetlands adjacent to hilly terrain can provide valuable and unique habitats in an otherwise upland landscape. Most of the freshwater used by humans comes from groundwater and surface waters such as lakes, rivers and generally wetlands. Thus, wetlands have a great influence on the quantity and quality of freshwater that are available for human use (Shewaye 2008). Wetlands provide many important services to human society (Yilma and Gebeh 2003). The value of the wetlands for fish and wildlife protection has been known for more than a century now, but some other benefits have been identified more recently (Mitsch and Gosselink 2007). They are also among the most important and productive ecosystems on the earth due to their functions and attributes (Turner et al. 2000, Mitsch and Gosselink 2007). So, globally, wetlands are under heavy pressure. Despite the increasing recognition of the need to conserve wetlands, losses have continued unabated (Abebe and Gebeh 2003). In the past, wetlands have been considered as “wastelands”, which harbor disease vectors and dumping sites for all sorts of wastes. Due to this, they were regarded as obstacles to human development and this has led to large-scale drainage and conversion for alternative uses without any regard to their ecological and socio-economic values. Therefore, drainage and reclamation of wetlands to convert them into agricultural fields, human settlement and industrial development is one of the biggest threats to wetland conservation and management (Dixon et al. 2001). Increasing human populations and change from subsistence to commercial exploitation of wetland resources continue to exert increasing pressures on limited wetland resources, resulting in a decline of services and quality, as well as quantity of products derived from wetlands (Ramachandra 2001). Apart from fishing, wetlands support agriculture, transhumance herding of domestic livestock, and hunting of wild herbivores migrating in response to flooding pattern. In the recent past, commercially sensitive and economically exploitative attitudes of society have subjected these ecosystems to stress, in some cases leading to alteration and hampering of their functions and their ultimate destruction or disappearance (Adams 1993 and Ramachandra 2001).