Lauding the WA’s vigilance when protecting internationally-valued natural resources;Recognizing that the degradation of wetlands has a serious negative impact on transnational migratory species, quality of trans-boundary waters, and a loss of nursery habitat necessary to sustain populations of commercially-fished or harvested species worldwide;Accepting that wetlands have an astounding capacity to absorb major and potentially catastrophic flooding and cleanse waters of dangerous pollutants; Realizing that those benefits that wetlands provide at no cost are often prohibitively expensive to artificially provide, and have effects that cannot be contained by national boundaries;Horrified at the degradation of these wetlands, despite the myriad benefits they offer;Wetlands being defined as terrestrial habitats whose biological and physical properties are characterized by the regular saturation of water during the growing season, and show evidence of hydrology, hydric soils, and hydrophytic vegetation;It is therefore established:Members are strongly urged to utilize developmental strategies and employ strategic-level assessment of their wetland resources to avoid and reduce impact to wetland waterbodies.The Waterbody Health and Mitigation Organization (WHAMO) shall be established and empowered to:Collect and disseminate information relevant to wetland study, identification, and protection;Issue and enforce best management practices for research and industry impact on wetlands, such as jurisdictional determination, public demarcation, impact reduction, and post-construction monitoring;Require the purchase of non-transferable mitigation credits, as a form of development tax, by nations for unavoidable permanent impacts caused to a wetland during industrial development, which:May be used in lieu of on-site mitigation when all other measures are proven impossible or impractical for a particular feature, and;Shall be equitably priced according to the characteristics of the wetland feature, degree of impact, and viability of alternative methods;Authorize the granting of mitigation credits to nations which pre-emptively construct wetland banks to offset future wetland loss, and;d. Collect and disseminate information relevant to wetland study and protection, and issue grants and loans to non-profit entities making progressive strides in wetland conservation and research.Members are required to utilize at least one of the following mitigation methods for wetland impacts:Restoration of a wetland to its pre-construction quality and characteristics;ii. Construction of a new wetland of similar characteristics in the vicinity at no less than a 1:1 ratio of area to offset impact;Purchase mitigation credits from WHAMO;Members shall utilize mitigation measures for impacted and damaged wetland area at no less than a 1:1 ratio.Members shall adopt, at minimum, the best management standards issued by WHAMO for their national industry.Members must require projects to include pre-construction environmental reports detailing the potential impacts to wetlands and all possible impacts, including secondary and cumulative impacts and possible alternatives, including a no-construction alternative, available for review by WHAMO in the event of dispute. Members are strongly encouraged to incorporate and fund water management programs to assist in the mitigation of impacts and maintaining of wetland quality, as well as work with local and non-governmental entities to best meet that end.Members are permitted to require those private industry entities impacting a wetland to assume the costs, either in part or whole, for the mitigation efforts herein required.
