Wetlands perform vital functions in the water cycle and play a role in flood management, groundwater re-charge, water quality improvement, CO2 balance, micro-climatic effects, biodiversity and global warming. Wetlands Management also sustain the livelihoods of many hundreds of millions of people.

However, wetlands all over the world are under threat and are being destroyed at an alarming rate. This loss has raised the awareness of the need for their conservation and wise use. Sound policies, strategies and management plans for sustainable use of wetlands must be based on solid knowledge and understanding of their ecological and socio-economic functions and processes.

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this course, the participants will:

understand the ecological structure and functions of wetlands;
understand the importance of wetlands to the communities and other stakeholders involved;
be aware of options for sustainable use of wetlands;
know how to write a wetland management plan for conservation and wise use.

Target group

The course is designed for professionals actively involved in wetland management. They may be working as national park or reserve officers, environmental or water mangement officers in local, regional or national governments, as staff of NGO, as junior university lecturer, etc. and who do not have the time to undertake a course of study lasting several weeks abroad.

Course structure

Participants complete the course in a period of four months with a workload of 140 hours. A participant is expected to spend about 9 hours a week on average through reading, discussion and assignments. The course is sub-divided into 5 subjects and a written assignment.

Within the course, each subject starts and ends on a specified day. Generally, a subject takes 3-4 weeks. Within this period, the participant is free to study in his or her own time.

Questions with regard to the subject can be posted on the discussion forum, eliciting responses from fellow participants. The teachers also regularly comment on the questions posted on this forum.

Course content

Schedule of the online Wetland Management course.
Subject	Key questions	Period
1. Introduction to wetland management	Why do we need to manage wetlands?	Week 1 - 2
2. Wetland ecosystem	How do wetland systems function ecologically and hydrologically?	Week 3 - 6
3. Wetland communities	What are wetland communities and how can they participate in wetland management?	Week 7 - 10
4. Strategic and operational planning	What options are available for sustainable wetland management and how can a sound management plan be written?	Week 11 - 14
5. Formulation of wetland management plans (individual paper)	Get hands-on training in writing a wetland management plan	Week 15 - 18

Each subject ends with a tutor assignment for which participants have to use their newly acquired knowledge and interact with the teacher and the other participants using the discussion platform of the online learning environment. The final mark for the course is based on tutor assignments, contribution to discussion assignments and the final paper. After completion, participants will receive a 'certificate of attendance’ jointly issued by UNESCO-IHE, Makerere University and Rijkswaterstaat-RIZA.