There is an idea that most of man-made wetlands are better conserved, especially when people themselves have created them for rice cultivation, while I believe it is not true since these farmers have to be trained on issues of chemical usage. However, natural wetlands have different problems.
Well, man made wetlands are generally realized to obtain some planned benefit, e.g. water treatment, food or biomass production and so on. As a consequence the human intervention is more intensive to preserve the function. The rode of man in managing natural wetlands has to be more oriented to avoid the loss of the wetland in itself. In fact the natural fate of the wetland in the long term is to disappear, due to the production of biomass and the sediment accumulation that cause the progressive filling of the wetland
Orientations from my side: 1. The worldwide net: www.wetlands.org is very advanced in conservation-matters of natural WL and have many details / reports, supplemented by further search-machine-results. 2. In Rwanda we transformed unutilized swamps and wetlands into highly productive rice-lands, with excellent results for poverty-reduction and food-security & diversity. We had the rule to safe some 10-20% of the valleys for conservation / biodiversity. The pressure against it was / is very substantial from all corners, because the profit & economical dimension of suddenly 2 x 5t/ha rice per year is a lure. I would strictly go for 0-contour-line-oriented designs to avoid erosion after hefty rains. The straightened (formerly meandering) rivers need very solid drop-structures. 3. Gezira-scheme and many other large-scale irrigation-schemes / wetlands as a man-made wetland can probably give you all sorts of experiences and wisdom. 4. The differences between both (natural and man-made wetlands) would require precise definitions. But the hitherto global conservation-knowledge and wisdom can easily provide further and basic hints. Any extremes in agro-chemical-administration need to be strictly avoided. 5. Both types of wetlands can --- if wanted so-- be and become important conservation-areas for all ecological challenges incl. biodiversity.
Hi Seyed, you should look at information available from Ducks Unlimited Canada (www.ducks.ca), as they have been very active at creating or enhancing wetlands in Canada. I'm involved in some investigations of the utility of artificial sites compared to natural sites, but that work is only starting. but if you check out the Journal of Wildlife Management, many, many people in the USA have been active and published on artificial or natural wetlands. Also contact the Institute for Waterfowl and Wetlands research in Manitoba, Canada - they have done a lot. Cheers, Mark
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