Draining wetlands exacerbated a number of other problems: the severe water eutrophication caused by the inflow of agricultural fertilisers, resulting in toxic cyano-bacterial blooms (see below) and oxygen deficits, a significant reduction in water retention, resulting in both droughts and floods, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from de-composing peat soils adding to the global warming, and the progressive disappearance of plants and animals associated with wetlands and natural rivers. All these changes can be summarized as a deepening climatic and ecological crisis. The good news is, however, that by restoring riverside wetlands we can minimize or even solve many of these problems!