ABSTRACT
Regulatory regimes which treat wetlands differently from other components of the landscape not only require that wetlands be defined, but that their boundaries can be precisely determined. The conversion of wetlands to dry land was seen as a public good, creating an economically valuable resource at the same time as removing a threat to human health and welfare. If protection of functional attributes of wetlands is recognized as important justification for wetland protection then implementation of wetland policies may require that functional value be assessed. The development of policies for wetland protection was driven by recognition of the importance of the ecological functions of wetlands. Mitigation may take the form of restoration or rehabilitation of some existing degraded wetland or the creation of a new artificial wetland. The policy acknowledges difficulties in definition: there may be some problem in defining wetlands.
