Wetlands: A natural safeguard against disaster

Wetlands are defined as land areas that are flooded with water, either seasonally or permanently, wetlands are a natural buffer against disasters.

WHEN well managed, wetlands can make communities resilient enough to prepare for, cope with and bounce back from disasters even stronger than before.

Maintaining healthy wetlands and restoring degraded ones means that a community can deal with a disaster even better next time.

The frequency of disasters worldwide has more than doubled in just 35 years, driven by climate- and weather- related hazards like flooding, tropical; cyclones and droughts. UN water estimates that 90 percent of all natural hazards are water- related.

And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) predicts even more extreme events going forward.

The human toll is tragic: 1,35 million people died as a result of disasters between 1996 and 2015.

Low- and middle- income countries account for 90 percent of fatalities. In material terms, weather- related disasters caused $3,3 trillion in damages between 1980 and 2014.

The Country has approximately 1117 wetlands that cover some 793 348 hectares or 1,5 percent of the country’s land area.

A total of 60 percent of this area is communal and resettlement areas. The wetlands of Harare and Chitungwiza admittedly are under threat from infrastructural development such as malls, churches and houses.

This has however, negated and compromised the ability of wetlands to reduce flooding because the wetlands are being turned to concrete jungles.

Naturally, wetlands control and reduce flooding because of the spongy like characteristics that they have which allow them to absorb excess water.

Due to the normal and above normal rainfall currently experienced in the country, people who have built on wetlands in areas such as Budiriro 5, Monavale, Chitungwiza, Malborough among others, are battling with flash flooding on a daily basis which has been exacerbated by the construction on wetlands.

The laws that we have as EMA are meant to protect citizens. In 2012, the Agency came up with wetlands maps of Harare and Chitungwiza to guide the local authorities, property developers and individuals on the status of the land in order to avoid ecological sensitive areas such as wetlands.

Let’s work together and jointly save the remaining wetlands because of their importance in risk reduction in the event of extreme climatic events brought by climate change such as droughts and floods.

Report all illegal solid waste dumps and sewer bursts to EMA and your Local Authority.