Vital GEO Graphics

Payments for ecosystem services: reforesting the Panama Canal Watershed

Large water impoundments in Iraq have created new habitats for resident and migrating species, especially birds. More than 20 per cent of the original Mesopotamian marshes in the Iraq area were re-flooded between May 2003 and March 2004, with the marshlands exhibiting a 49 per cent extension of wetland vegetation and water surface area in 2006, compared to that observed in the mid-1970s. An April 2005 cover article in The Economist entitled “Rescuing Environmentalism” led with a analysis of the work by PRORENA, a Panamanian NGO, to establish a diverse native forest cover across extensive areas of deforested lands in the Panama Canal watershed. There has been heavy support from the reinsurance industry, which sees that a regular water flow is necessary for the long-term working of the canal. The project works with local communities to identify a mix of useful tree species, and to research optimal rearing and planting options. It provides income streams for the communities, while improving water retention and flow dynamics for the canal region. It has demonstrated that large-scale ecological restoration in the tropics is technically feasible, socially attractive and financially viable. Source: The Economist 2005

Invertebrates, including butterflies, comprise the vast majority of species. Credit: Ngoma Photos

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Restoration of the Mesopotamian marshes in Iraq

River or canal Marsh extension 1973 Water Dry soil Wet soil or very shallow water Sparsh marsh vegetation Medium marsh vegetation Dense marsh vegetation Other sparse vegetation Other medium vegetation Other dense vegetation

8 March 2003

Source: UNEP 2006

19 December 2005

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