AS we celebrated this year’s World Wetlands Day, on February 2, many of us fully appreciated the import.
Failure to access fresh and clean water in wells is another pointer of the rate at which wetlands are being destroyed by receding underground water levels.
Flooding of homes, even when there have been no heavy rains is another effect arising from the destruction of wetlands.
Wetlands are increasingly being destroyed by construction projects among other human activities
The campaigns by environmentalists have also increased awareness on the importance and need to protect wetlands.
It seems there is now an increased appreciation of the fact that wetlands are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet and act as giant sponges, soaking up rainfall and slowly releasing it over time, said Worldwide Fund for Nature in a statement.
Wetlands serve as natural sewage treatment works, absorbing chemicals, filtering pollutants and sediments, breaking down suspended solids and neutralising harmful bacteria.
Alarmingly, global wetlands are estimated to have declined by as much as 71 percent since 1900.
Already 169 countries have signed the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The Ramsar Convention’s mission, which is the conservation and wise use of wetlands with the goal of achieving sustainable development, would realise results if more countries fully appreciate the role that wetlands play in our lives.
For instance, in Zimbabwe, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) is working closely with Government to ensure the protection of wetlands, including the world’s largest waterfall Victoria Falls and urban wetland Monavale Vlei.
Pollution, illegal logging and construction projects have been identified as the three major threats to continued existence of this vital resource.
The WWF supports more than 100 million hectares of wetlands worldwide and seven declared sites in Zimbabwe.
This WWF supported 100 million hectares of wetlands represents 45 percent of the world’s total area of wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention.
This year, major focus should be on the remaining wetlands and measures must be in place to ensure they are protected; sites such as Lake Chivero, the primary water supply for Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare are of particular significance.
“When we mark World Wetlands Day, we are reminding people that water doesn’t come from a tap; it comes from healthy wetland ecosystems,” said Lifeng Li, WWF international director of freshwater.
“With billions of people depending on wetlands for water, food and their livelihoods, this is a significant milestone. As world leaders think about how to implement the commitments they made under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, protecting wetlands can make a significant contribution to human well-being,” said Li.
“The Ramsar Convention welcomes the designation by Zimbabwe of its first seven wetlands of international importance, bringing the number of Ramsar Sites to over 2 200 around the world. This exemplifies the importance and the value of working in close partnership with international conservation NGOs such as WWF, one of the six Ramsar international organisation partners,” said Ania Grobicki, acting secretary-general of Ramsar Convention on wetlands.
Speaking to The Patriot, acting manager for Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Liberty Mugadza said EMA’s campaign has been mainly on wetland restoration and utilisation projects in which the parastatal has helped fence off over 70 wetlands in rural areas across the country.
“EMA’s thrust has been on wetland restoration and utilisation projects with the parastal having supported over 70 wetlands in nine provinces of the country, excluding Harare since the city mostly has private ones like Monavale Vlei,” Mugadza said.
“We fence off the core of these wetlands and then rural communities can have consolidated gardens metres away from the core. In places where the wetlands were degraded, there is improvement and many communities are deriving a livelihood from these wetlands.”
The wetlands supported by EMA are in Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West, Matebeland North and South.
Many communities grow bananas and horticultural crops close to the wetlands.
Wetland ecologists have documented the wetlands benefits as follows; water purification, flood protection, shoreline stabilisation, ground-water recharge and stream-flow maintenance.
Wetlands also provide habitat for fish and wildlife, including endangered species.