Walking on wetlands near the Central Business District two weeks ago was a reminder that the value of, and the threat to wetlands, is an everyday occurrence. Alas, city development puts increasing pressure on the remaining wetlands that circle the city and lie alongside an expanding suburbia.

Because the wetlands are seasonal, and dry in the winter, some economic interests even dispute their definition as wetlands. But, the reality is that Harare’s water crisis is by and large a self-made one.  Local organizations work hard to improve understanding that by working with the wetlands as part of nature’s natural capital, they can help the city provide its much needed sustainable water supply (see our feature here)

The bit-by-bit erosion of wetlands that serve Harare so well, is a common global story. The piecemeal fragmentation of wetlands is ongoing, a little here and a little there, driven by multiple pressures and insufficient understanding of how wetlands can be part of the solution to sustainable water supply, flood relief, mitigation to climate change, and a host of other services.

Despite all the jobs and other vital benefits that wetlands provide, 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. The wetlands that still remain are often so degraded that the people who directly rely on wetlands for their living – often the very poor – are driven into even deeper poverty. In addition, by 2025, it is estimated that 35% of people will directly face declining water supplies. This is the result of a point of view that still mistakenly sees wetlands as wasteland.

Today, the World Wetlands Day 2016, celebrated “Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods”. As in previous years, partners organized events on the day to raise awareness for the importance of wetlands, some of which we will share here on the website and in the community to inspire future events.

After all, every day is a wetlands day for people depending on them for their livelihoods.

“In the Netherlands, we celebrate Dutch engineering that keeps the country dry. The Dutch have crafted their skills of water management over 600 years, as a necessity for choosing to live below sea level; engineering the landscape, and even the wetlands such as the Biesbosch. While we marvel at engineering ingenuity, we can’t forget the natural engineering provided by ecosystems, with wetlands a particularly good example.

As natural  “shock absorbers” the green infrastructure  of wetlands attenuate flooding, reduce nutrient enrichment to downstream lakes, rivers, and coastal regions, moderate local climate, support diverse human livelihoods and are havens of biodiversity. From beautiful rotifers to intricate plant communities; from large wetland antelopes to the specialised skills of bird species, wetlands are wonders of evolution and a joy to the senses….Read full post

At the Wetlands Forum workshop in Kigali in 2013, we developed ideas for the Wise-Use, Smart Plans for African wetlands. The energy of the Kigali workshop demonstrated the appetite for a pan-African Community of Practice for the protection and management of wetlands; from that meeting, wetlandsforum.net was conceived. Since then we have had follow-up regional workshops in Kampala and Benin, enabled by the funding and support from local and international donors. Along the way, we have been thinking how to make the community a viable proposition and as a south-south African network. How to complement, not duplicate, the good work of Ramsar and others? The network can be a virtual space where ideas can be shared and discussed, and information provided. It can result in partnerships that also provide support for real-life workshops and meetings. A number of you have agreed to be part of the steering groups to provide vision and energy. Now on the eve of World Wetlands Day 2015, we breathe life into the web-platform, to support, facilitate and share wetland experiences.
Wetlandsforum.net is now “open for business” and with a positive message from Josué Aruna from DRC a good place to start. Josué outlines some local activities to celebrate World Wetlands day on 2nd February. Check out reports from World Wetlands Day 2014 and the Ramsar Wetlands Day webpage, and share your photos and stories from this year’s World Wetlands Day on our community platform. Wetlandsforum.net is a sort of infant that needs to learn and grow. It will do this from the nourishment from the community, so that it becomes part of the community, and we invite you all to get involved as the site develops in 2015.

Sincerely yours,
Ken Irvine
Chair, Steering Committee Wetlandsforum.net