Chronicle Editor
Vincent Gono
A FORMER senior government official once made an ecologically reckless remark when there was a tiff with stakeholders in the environmental conservation sector over the construction of a Chinese complex on a known wetland in Harare some years ago.
He said something to the effect that there was no need to stop a US$300m investment because people wanted to protect two bullfrogs.
With that remark the construction went ahead with murmurs of disappointment and disapproval from environmentalists who felt that the environment and wetlands in particular were being sacrificed on the altar of economic and “personal” expediency.
Construction on wetlands became commonplace in the country with slow but perfunctory steps being taken to stop those that were doing so while revocation of statutes that prohibit the erection of buildings on wetlands seemed painful.
This is so because the culture of conservation of water and its sources in the country has been limited to lakes, dams, tanks and other man-made water reservoirs.
Little attention has been paid to the natural sources of so many rivers and perennial streams that feed into the various creations of man — the wetlands, while their many ecological functions have equally been ignored.
In fact, people have taken it upon themselves to disturb these ecological sites with reckless abandon.
But nature always has a way of correcting the recklessness of town planners, local authorities, individual land barons, property developers and companies as it is not as forgetful as people are at least according to Mr Washington Zhakata, director climate change in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
He said rain water always claims its traditional space and routes much to the shock and suffering of those that innocently or complicitly stood in its way. He urged town planners to mainstream climate change in their planning which was characterised by frequent flooding and cyclones.
He said nature always exposes the dangerous planning that often disregards important ecological sites such as wetlands.
This is despite the fact that the country has a rich and clear legislative ammunition on wetlands provided in Section 113 of the Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27), Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 of the Environment
Impact Assessment (EIA and the Ecosystems Protection Regulations) which provides for the minister to declare any wetland to be an ecologically sensitive area and gives him/her the power to impose limitations on development in or around such an area.
Local authorities have continued to ignore calls by the Government not to build on wetlands and have failed to move people whose houses are in wetlands and flood plains, who have become perennial victims of floods each time the country receives above average rainfall, to higher ground.
And apart from a comprehensive and often not followed legislative framework the country is a member of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention — an inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention’s member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.
By definition a wetland is an area that is seasonally or permanently covered by shallow water or an area where the water table is close to or at the surface where there are water saturated soils and water tolerant plants.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Mr Munesu Munodawafa on Friday bemoaned the destruction of wetlands, saying they should be preserved as they play a critical role in the prevention of floods, droughts and other natural disasters.
He said those who have chosen to erect buildings on wetlands were either misinformed or ignorant of the social, economic and political importance of wetlands saying they see in wetlands open spaces which they were not.
“Wetlands should be considered as solution providers within an urban and peri-urban context, which can mitigate risks from a changing climate, support food production for a growing population, supply water and generate income through tourism and recreation,” he said.
“Too often the benefits which wetlands provide within urban and peri-urban environments are not fully recognised as they compete against urban development.
“We adopted the National Wetlands Policy this year and this is a bold step of commitment towards protection of the wetlands.
Wetlands constitute almost four percent of Zimbabwe and they should be integrated into planning and become part of the development agenda.
“We are saying local authorities should take the remaining land for residential and other developments and leave the four percent. We don’t want a repeat of what we saw early this year when nature fought back encroachment into wetlands by responding to human activities on these sensitive ecosystems with a vengeance.
Wetlands, he said, provide an important habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, trap moderate amounts of soil from running off nearby uplands before they enter lakes and streams. They maintain and improve water quality by filtering contaminants and excessive nutrients as well as renew ground water supplies.
He said wetlands prevent flooding by holding water much like a sponge adding that by doing so, wetlands help keep river levels normal and filter and purify the surface water.
Wetlands also support recreational activities including fish, hunting, nature appreciation, and bird watching and are a source of economically valuable products such as wild rice and commercial fishing.
However, the challenges currently facing wetlands in the country are two-fold in that while they are threatened and facing extinction from people’s actions, they also risk a bigger phenomenon of climate change.
With climate change the frequency of droughts has reduced water availability resulting in the water table dropping (lowering) to considerable depths that affect crop and biodiversity to access underground water.
Mr Zhakata echoed the same sentiments saying elevated temperatures caused by climate change were enhancing evaporative losses, and as precipitation was gradually decreasing, there were signs of reduced run-off and discharge into the rivers from the wetlands.
Mr Zhakata added that there were many derivations from wetlands such as hunting, fishing and bird watching.
“Hunting, fishing, bird-watching, and nature photography are just a few of the many activities that people enjoy in wetlands.
“We are promoting programs that help protect existing wetlands. People should not be allowed to drain, fill, or build on a wetland unless they receive a permit”.
Research has shown that wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water. Wetlands also release vegetative matter into rivers, which helps feed fish in the rivers.
Wetlands help to counter balance the human effect on rivers by rejuvenating them and surrounding ecosystems.
Many animals that live in other habitats use wetlands for migration or reproduction. For example, some birds nest in large old trees, but need shallow areas in order to wade for fish and aquatic life. Amphibians often forage in upland areas but return to the water to mate and reproduce.
Wetlands have a socio-cultural value attached to them and tampering with them negatively affect their cultural value because in some areas they are deemed sacred and people attach a strong cultural significance on them.
Online Reporter