Wetlands are ecosystems with abundant wildlife and high biodiversity. They provide natural functions with high potential values for mankind, such as water storage, water quality improvement, food chain support and carbon storage. Wetland ecosystems are of great scientific interest because they are inhabited by plants and animals with special adaptations, are governed by hydrological flows and are characterised by specific biogeochemical processes.

The sustainable management of water resources has become a fundamentally important challenge for nations and local communities world-wide. In The Netherlands, large-scale water management has a long history and the Dutch people are famous for their flood control structures and reclamation programs, which often have resulted in the drainage and modification of natural wetlands.
More recently, new ideas have been developed for 'integrated water resources management', implying that water quantity and water quality issues are both equally important and that management should optimise both. New policies are being developed to reverse flooding problems by restoring part of the active floodplain areas or creating new storage basins ('Space for the River'). Wetland Science can provide knowledge for designing these schemes in a sustainable way. Managing water for the conservation of (semi-)natural wetlands, and managing wetlands for water quality enhancement could be important instruments in this respect.