Artificial wetlands can be good for some birds such as flamingos which concentrate in salt ponds and fish ponds (e.g. in Doñana, Spain). However, the diversity and proportion of endangered species is lower in artificial than in restored or natural wetlands. Natural wetlands are essential for conserving avian diversity, but restored wetlands can be of similar value and can assure maintenance of key ecological processes. Thus, when economic costs per unit area are similar, resources for wetland conservation are better invested in restoration projects than in wetland creation. Photo by Nicky Petkov http://NaturePhotos.eu.

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