Wednesday, January 14, 2026
A new study from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina maintains draining Prairie wetlands is adding to Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The study, published in international science journal Facets, assed the impact of wetland drainage across the Prairie Pothole Region, a large agricultural zone with millions of shallow, seasonal wetlands, many of which continue to be removed to increase farmable acreage.
University of Regina Institute for Environmental Change and Society director Dr. Kerri Finlay led a team that assembled existing data to estimate the emissions impact of ongoing wetland loss, a University of Regina release said.
The project brought together scientists, farmers, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the National Farmers Union, the release added.
“Our team found that ongoing wetland drainage in the Canadian portion of the Prairie Pothole Region boosts annual agricultural emissions by at least five per cent. The biggest driver is carbon dioxide released when previously submerged wetland sediments are exposed to air after drainage,” Finlay said.
The study calculated that at Canada’s 2024 carbon price additional emissions are associated with a financial cost of $171 million annually.
“While this loss of carbon from the landscape is large and important in itself, it is important to acknowledge that this is part of a broader suite of ecosystem services with value to humans that are lost through wetland drainage activities,” study co-author and University of Saskatchewan School of Environment and Sustainability associate professor Dr. Colin Whitfield said.
Other factors examined included changes associated with drainage, such as reduced diesel fuel use when equipment no longer has to navigate around wetlands, but benefits were found to be minimal when compared to the emissions released from exposed carbon stores.
“Because these emissions aren’t currently included in Canada’s official National Inventory Report, this represents a significant blind spot in national climate accounting. These values must be added to the inventory and used to shape future policy decisions on Prairie wetland protection,” Finlay said.
