Abstract We elevate the undervalued role of wetland protective services for mitigating disastrous consequences of unprecedented weather-related events for human communities. Scientific evidence increasingly reveals that wetlands play critical hydrologic roles in landscapes, helping to mitigate flood, drought, and, in some cases, fire risks. However, wetland protective services have not received sufficient policy action. We propose national wetland commissions, modeled after the concept of lake and river commissions, as one way to strategically link wetland protection to other societal objectives, including human disaster risk planning, infrastructure investments, and climate adaptation strategies. We offer an example applicable to the United States, describing an institutional design for a National Interagency Wetland Commission. We suggest it could be patterned after existing federal commissions statutorily created by Congress with delegated administrative and regulatory authority and designated independent agency status within the executive branch. It is time for bold and innovative policy action to incorporate wetland protective services into societies’ defenses against extreme weather events.

中文翻译：

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为人类保护湿地：战略政策行动可以帮助湿地降低风险并增强复原力

摘要 我们提升了湿地保护服务在减轻人类社区前所未有的天气相关事件的灾难性后果方面被低估的作用。越来越多的科学证据表明，湿地在景观中发挥着重要的水文作用，有助于缓解洪水、干旱，在某些情况下还可以缓解火灾风险。然而，湿地保护服务并未得到足够的政策行动。我们建议以湖泊和河流委员会的概念为蓝本的国家湿地委员会，作为将湿地保护与其他社会目标（包括人类灾害风险规划、基础设施投资和气候适应战略）战略性地联系起来的一种方式。我们提供了一个适用于美国的例子，描述了国家机构间湿地委员会的制度设计。我们建议它可以模仿现有的由国会依法设立的联邦委员会，具有授权的行政和监管权力，并在行政部门内具有指定的独立机构地位。现在是采取大胆创新的政策行动，将湿地保护服务纳入社会抵御极端天气事件的时候了。