Legal Issues

This term paper is about the environmental laws concerned with wetlands and other protected lands. The author of this paper defines wetlands and then discusses the importance of wetlands and laws that regard to wetlands. It is important to note that wetlands are very important in any particular type of ecosystem. A wetland can be defined as a habitat that lies on environment ecosystem and is between dry land and water. It is a specific portion of land that has its soil saturated with high levels of moisture on permanent or seasonal basis.
 Wetland has some different characteristic features that make it different from other types of environmental features such as lakes, forests and natural features. The area of land can be covered partially or completely by pool of water that is shallow. One of the worlds largest wetland is in South America and covers Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. Wetlands are habitats of different types of species and have different survival conditions and a mixture of interactions in the ecosystem. The type of species that are found in wetlands, soil and hydrology are some aspects that defined wetlands well (Kibel, 1999). Soil type found in an environmental spectrum that is covered by wetland is shaped by presence of water and in most cases the soil is hydric.
The type of soil is very important in maintaining high levels of water and it is always submerged as a way of raising the water table. Water lilies, cypress, tamarack, cattails and mangrove are some of the plant species found in wetlands. Wetlands in different regions of the world do vary as a result of soil type and the accumulation of water. For instance, there is salty and fresh water in different regions of the world and this makes wetlands to vary. In every ecosystem over the world, there is the presence of wetland except in Antarctica. Some good examples of wetlands in Arctic include swamps, bogs, fens and marshes. There are coastal wetlands that include mangrove forests, tidal marshes and coastal swamps. In addition, ponds, riparian systems, swamps, marshes and vernal pools are good examples of wetlands found in inland regions.
     Wetlands are one of the most important types of environmental ecosystems because they provide food, shelter and habitat to many different species of animals. The higher levels of productivity in wetlands allow it to be a good habitat for any particular species of animal on earth. Among the most beneficiaries of wetlands are fish, insects that survive in water, amphibians and shellfish. This is because these species survive in water. Human beings are too beneficiaries of wetlands because they get food inform of fish (Boyle, Anderson, 1996). Mammals and birds also rely on wetlands to get food, water, shelter and swamps providing good breeding sites. 
It is therefore very important for every individual to take adequate measures that will lead to the protection of wetlands and its habitats. Environmental protection is both a role of both public and private sectors especially the government and environmentalists. Wildlife is the biggest beneficiary of wetlands and there is a need to protect the lives of these species otherwise they will get finished and create an imbalance of ecosystem. Wetlands to large extent act as tourist attraction sites and if they are not protected, then there is no any single tourist who will be attracted to these sites leading to reduced economic growth.
Environmental laws that govern wetlands and protected land
    Wetlands need to be protected by different entities like government and private sector. As a form of environmental spectrum, wetland constitute a  big percentage of environment and all those laws that apply in protection of environment need to be put in place so that it is conserved. However, in other developed countries with little space left for development, they have opted to rehabilitate wetlands to create more space (Foster, 2004). In United States of America, almost all of their original wetlands have been rehabilitated to dry land for development. In Pennsylvania, two thirds of the original wetlands have been converted into useful land for agriculture or establishment of industries. As a result of all these measures, many countries have established laws like Environmental constitution and Clean Water Act (Stenzel, 2002). These laws however have not helped much because in the modern world wetlands are lost. There are other laws that lead every citizen participates fully in preserving wetlands such as
State laws
    Many global states have come up with state laws that lead to protection of wetlands like swamps, mangrove forests and bogs. For instance in Pennsylvania, the environmental law that provides for protection of wetlands is the Dams Safety and Encroachment Act. The act incorporates rules and regulations that have been in use since 1980 and the department of environment is concerned with enactment of these rules. The regulations aims at protecting the  replacement of wetlands and it permits a ratio of one to one or a ratio of two to one in case of replacing a wetland where permission has not been given and is to be enforced at a later stage. This basically aims at protecting the existence of wetlands that have accruing benefits in any particular nation (Odgen, Saxer, 2006). State laws help to protect natural wetlands and are set laws that make it difficult for any specific individual in owning a wetland or trying to miss use it. Therefore, every state must put into place measures that will lead to the protection of wetlands and other special lands.
Federal laws
    Federal government is given the power of protecting and regulating any activity that takes place in wetland. The rules and regulations are put under Rivers and Harbors Act and Clean Water Act. US Army Corps of Engineers has been given the mandate of administering these rules that work under the umbrella of Environmental Protection Agency. The main aim of these rules is to protect the lives of many endangered species of plants and animals. The government should ensure that environmental laws about wetlands are fully enforced and anybody who is found guilty of breaching such laws should be punished (Foster, 2004). There are other states that are yet to establish statutes about protection of wetlands but they have given other federal agencies the power to oversee wetlands which is also good.
Local authorities
    The local municipalities and counties in any particular country can as well act in their full capacity to protect wetlands. Many commonwealth countries have agreed that it is better for municipalities to put legislative measures that amount to protection of wetlands. The local authorities can work better through mobilizing people in the society on how to adequately participate fully when it comes to wetland preservation.  Communities living around wetlands must be enlightened on how to protect the ecosystem by the local municipalities. For instance, they should be taught on the dangers of polluting wetlands (Boyle, Anderson, 1996). When the society is taught on the best methods to apply as a way of reducing pollution of wetlands, it gives long life of all the species in the wetlands and thus promotes the conservation of environment. The counties have the responsibility of teaching its local people on ways of flood management that causes a lot of threat to many wetlands.
     All these laws are very basic and need to be applied in any particular country that has wetlands. Environmental laws can only work under the three umbrellas of law but individuals have the capacity to conserve wetlands and protected land. Since the same individuals are responsible for degrading, polluting, replacing and destroying wetlands, they should be taught on how to preserve the same ecosystems. For instance, parents should ensure that their children are taught on the importance of wetlands and how they need to be conserved. Parents should take their children on picnics along wetlands where they learn more (Stenzel, 2002). Individuals in this aspect should try to locate lands that have been protected like natural forests and wetlands. They should learn more about these areas and try to protect them for self and global benefit.
In conclusion wet lands and other protected lands need to be preserved by any person as a way of promoting environment preservation to create a better future for generations to come. Laws that govern environment protection should also be put in place when conserving wetlands. The paper has discussed all these laws and therefore it is the role of government and private sectors to enforce the laws.