A glass of water and the value of wetlands to mother nature
What you need to know:
- What do you do and there is a column, like this, which you never want to miss? Obvious, you cannot give up! You take a glass of water, and as you scan through newspapers, “World Wetlands Day 2021” hits you in the face! This was last Tuesday.
Writing is an art, and always artists love their work. But sometimes you may suffer ‘writer’s block’. Just imagine you try to sit down and write, but nothing comes to mind.
What do you do and there is a column, like this, which you never want to miss? Obvious, you cannot give up! You take a glass of water, and as you scan through newspapers, “World Wetlands Day 2021” hits you in the face! This was last Tuesday.
Yes, for geography lovers, including biodiversity, they will tell you wetlands and water cannot be separated. They are all critical for supporting life on mother earth. Without adequate water in our bodies, we cannot be healthy. We cannot survive.
Without water, we cannot feed ourselves. All the food we eat: fish, meat, maize, etc., need water for them to reach our tables.
Yet, many of us are ignorant of the geographical or natural water cycle. Often, it happens only when things get bad, like when there is no rain, or when water pollution starts destroying lives, that some of us are awakened to this reality.
They say ignorance is bliss, but it cannot save us from the ravages of nature. When humanity fails to act responsibly, and destroys all important wetlands, in the name of development, those in the know and those ignorant ones, equally have to pay a price. Sometimes its outright deaths- talk of floods!
Every year, on February 2, the world celebrates World Wetlands Day. This day has been set aside so as to raise global awareness of the high importance of wetlands for the people and our planet.
It is also a commemoration of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands which was signed in 1971. The theme for 2021 World Wetlands Day is “Wetlands and water”, this brings to spotlight how wetlands are a source of freshwater in our day to day life and hence calls for actions which should be taken to restore them and stop their loss.
According to the Global Wetland Outlook by Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2018), “the value of wetlands remains largely unrecognized by policy and decision makers.”
This is despite providing the world with water, floods and droughts protection, leave alone providing food, supporting biodiversity, among so many other roles.
The report notes that in those areas where wetlands’ data exist, “87% of the global wetland resource has been lost since 1700.”
The decrease is due to drainage and conversion. This is “three times faster than natural forests.”
This is very alarming considering the importance of wetlands for sustainable development. Take the case of biodiversity, where fish, water birds, turtles and many other species cannot survive without wetlands.
We all need clean water, which depends on wetlands. With their decline and increased water pollution, the report notes “salinity has built up in many wetlands, including in groundwater, damaging agriculture.”
The report recommends urgent action at national and international levels to raise awareness of the wetlands’ benefits while ensuring their inclusion in national development plans.
In the world’s wetland ecosystem, Tanzania plays a very important role. The country is rich in wetland resources like Great Lake systems, major river networks and deltaic mangroves. Available estimates indicate Tanzania wetlands cover over 7 percent of the country’s surface area (NEMC/WWF/IUCN, 1990).
Tanzania ratified Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on 13th August, 2000. There are four sites jointly amounting to 4,868,424 hectares, designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites).
The government over the years has taken multiple steps to protect our potential wetlands, and those efforts must be sustained. For the citizens, there is a need for mass public education about wetlands, so that as many people as possible become responsible for wetlands, conservation drives.
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Saumu Jumanne lectures at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE)