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Vocabulary:

droughts—long periods of low rainfall and very dry conditions

pollution—anything harmful or poisonous that is put into an environment

sediment—very small pieces of broken-down rocks

For Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands, the first line of defense against the ocean is wetlands. Wetlands are shallow bodies of water. They may be permanent or come and go. Wetlands on Pacific islands take a variety of forms: rivers, streams, lakes, swamps, marshes, mangroves, sea grass beds, and coral reefs. They may contain fresh water, salt water, or a mixture of both, and are home to lots of different life forms.

Wetlands serve several important functions. They protect the land from storm waves and provide areas for flood water to collect. This slows seawater or stops it from reaching further inland, where it might damage property. Wetlands are nurseries for the next generation of fish and other marine life. They help keep surface water clean by trapping sediment and pollutants, and they provide water for food crops and other plant life.

Natural threats and human activities can harm Pacific Island wetlands. The Hawaiian island of O‘ahu has lost about 70 percent of its wetlands. (This is only slightly worse than the 60 percent average loss around the world.) Warming air temperatures cause surface water in wetlands to evaporate more quickly. This also reduces water quality. The main human threats to island wetlands come from commercial activities such as land development, farming, overfishing, and coral reef mining. As a result of poor management, many wetlands have disappeared, leaving the islands and their inhabitants vulnerable to storms, sea-level rise, or droughts.

As wetlands continue to disappear, the islanders who depend on them for food or income from tourism will suffer even more. But with improved wetland management practices, Pacific islands will be better able to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Why are wetlands important in coastal environments like Hawai‘i?

What kinds of human activities impact wetlands?

How will climate change impact wetlands?

What can be done to protect and preserve wetlands?

How could you, as a class, help to restore or improve wetlands where you live?

Here are suggested ways to engage students with this video and with activities related to this topic.

Class activity: Use the Incredible Shrinking Habitat Activity (PDF) to demonstrate the effects of habitat destruction on a food web. You can adapt the activity as needed to meet the needs of your students and to feature a more appropriate predator-prey relationship for your island.

Class activity: Use the Just Passing Through—Learning Activity (PDF) to demonstrate how soils, like those found in wetlands, can filter and clean water. You can adapt and simplify the activity as needed to meet the needs of your students.