For example, the global reduction of wetland areas—an estimated 50 per cent since the beginning of the twentieth century—will lead to a severe reduction in global and especially local capacity to absorb water during floods and to reduce peak flows (TEEB, 2013). For coastal wetlands, i.e. wetlands in the world’s major river deltas, a 52 per cent decline was recorded between the 1980s and early 2000s (Coleman et al., Global estimates of future wetland loss are not currently available, but local and regional projections draw a bleak picture.