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World
Wetland Day - 2 February 2011
Environment
Africa
January 31, 2011
Wetlands and
Forests, is the theme for World Wetlands Day 2011, especially chosen
because 2011 is the UN International Year of Forests. Every year
since 1997 on the 2nd February, government agencies, non-governmental
organizations and groups of citizens at all levels of the community
are encouraged to undertake action aimed at raising public awareness
of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention
in particular. The Ramsar Convention is the Convention on Wetlands
of International Importance and is an International Treaty for the
conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands. The Ramsar
List of Wetlands of International Importance now includes 1,888
sites located in 159 countries. Currently in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) the following countries are signatory
to the Ramsar Convention: Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and
Zambia
The slogan for
World Wetlands Day 2011 is simple 'Forests for water and wetlands.'
So the question we ask is, what is the role of forests - wet or
not - in our lives and why does looking after them matter so much?
The primary answer is water: no matter who we are, where we live
or what we do, our lives depend on it and our freshwater availability
on a global scale depends on our forests.
The health of
our wetlands, whether forested or not, are directly linked to the
health of forests in our catchments. Losing and degrading forests
means losing and degrading wetlands. Wetlands are like a sponge,
explained in a simple way, when you put a sponge into water it soaks
up the water and holds the water, but if you put pressure on the
sponge the water is then squeezed out and the sponge is left dry.
There are many wetlands in Zimbabwe that are being damaged and destroyed
by human activity and what this means is that we are 'squeezing
out the water' from the very sponges that keep our water tables
and provide us with water.
In Zimbabwe, it is estimated that 15% of drainage basins are occupied
by Wetlands.
A good example of wetland conservation and community participation
is the Monavale Wetland which was under threat due to increasing
housing developments, agricultural activities and illegal dumping
of waste in the area. In October 2006 a MOU - Memorandum of Understanding
was signed between Birdlife
Zimbabwe, Environment Africa and the Conservation Society of
Monavale (COSMO) so as to bring interested parties together to protect
the Monavale wetland. This is a small but relatively intact wetland
within the City of Harare and is of immense biodiversity importance,
especially as a breeding ground for Crakes, Flufftails and other
migratory species of birds as well as many other amphibians, insects,
snakes etc.
The COSMO team
and it's partner organisations have worked tirelessly together
to protect the Wetland with help from the Environment Management
Act (Chapter 20:27) which defines a wetland and outlines the legal
methods to protect and conserve Wetlands.
Wetlands are
a critical part of our natural environment; they reduce the impacts
of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They also
provide habitat for animals and plants and they contain a wide diversity
of life, supporting plants and animals that are found nowhere else.
The protection of Wetlands within our towns and cities are critical
for our survival and the time has come for local residents to start
taking action within their communities to stop the destruction and
the consequent negative impacts to our environment. There is only
one world and it is our responsibility to take care of Mother Earth.
Visit the Environment
Africa fact
sheet
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