Preserve wetlands, local authorities told
LOCAL authorities in the Harare Metropolitan Province have been urged to ensure the preservation of wetlands in their planning.
Speaking at the World Wetlands Day celebrations yesterday, Harare Metropolitan Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Charles Tavengwa said local authorities were mandated to develop and implement local management plans for the protection and restoration of degraded wetlands.
World Wetlands Day is commemorated to mark the signing of the Treaty on the Conservation of Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran.
The treaty became popularly known as the Ramsar Convention and it aims to raise public awareness on the conservation, proper utilisation and management of wetlands and their resources.
This year’s World Wetlands Day ran under the theme, “Wetlands and Wellbeing” which emphasizes the relationship between wetlands and human wellbeing.
“In a bid to achieve sustainable wetland management local authorities should integrate gazetted wetlands into their plans,” Minister Tavengwa said.
“Local plans provide comprehensive and valuable guidelines that shape local development. The general citizenry in the province should take up the sustainable management of wetlands as their responsibility.
“Human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and Infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species and climate change. The current trends in human settlement also potentially pose major threats for wetland conservation and wise use.”
Minister Tavengwa said as cities grow, development increases, driving the demand for land and the tendency to encroach on wetlands. He said wetlands have been viewed as wastelands and were thus converted for other purposes including their use as dumping grounds.
“There is an urgent need to raise awareness on wetlands to reverse their rapid loss and to encourage the restoration and conservation of these vital ecosystems,” Minister Tavengwa said.
“This year’s campaign, therefore, calls for us to value wetlands for the multiple benefits and nature-based solutions they provide for human well-being and a healthy planet. It also encourages us to manage wetlands wisely and use them sustainably so we can conserve them and maintain the health of these critically important ecosystems.
“Let us work tirelessly to restore lost and degraded wetlands to revive this rich biodiversity and life found in these life-sustaining ecosystems. Harare Province has a land area of 87200 hectares, 27.5 percent of which are wetlands and let us awaken that long lost sense of respect for the wild river, including the complex workings of the wetland and the intricate web of life that water supports.”
Ms Julia Pierini from Birdlife Zimbabwe said people should be aware that wetlands needed to be preserved.
“We also need to go down and see what are the challenges in protecting wetlands,” she said.