ABSTRACT
Wetlands host a rich and diverse collection of plants and animals. They are a vast genetic resource, only a fraction of which has been studied, and a still smaller fraction tapped for human use. Wetlands have already yielded economically important species like rice, sago, oil palm, mangroves, crayfish, shrimp, oysters, caimans, waterfowl, fish and furbearing animals. They may yield even more important genetic material, as yet undiscovered.
