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Focus on Namibia’s wetlands

Focus on Namibia’s wetlands

WETLANDS are important to the survival of people and other species, and in Namibia, wetlands can be divided into five groups.

Coastal lagoons and beaches such as the Walvis Bay Lagoon and Sandwich Harbour fall under a group called marine systems, a category of shallow ocean overlaying the continental shelf and coastal waters, including mud flats, lagoons and rocky shores. PERENNIALS Estuarine wetland systems are partially enclosed bodies of water, which get alternating freshwater inflows from rivers and tidal inflows from the sea.Such wetlands are found at the mouths of the Kunene River and the Orange River.Another category is called riverine wetland systems, which include flowing rivers, their associated flood plains, some river mouths and freshwater lagoons.These rivers can either be perennial or ephemeral.Perennial rivers such as the Okavango, Zambezi, the Kwando-Linyanti-Chobe System and their flood plains fall in this group.The lacustrine wetland systems are classified as standing, open bodies of water with little or no vegetation such as lakes, pans and dams.In Namibia these include pans such as the Etosha Pan and the Nyae-Nyae Pan, and sinkhole lakes such as Otjikoto, Guinas Lake, Aigamas Cave and Dragon’s Breath Cave.Man-made dams such as the Hardap, Von Bach and Olushandja Dams are also part that category of wetlands.The fifth type of wetland found in Namibia is called a palustrine system – well-vegetated, standing water pools such as swamps, marshes, vleis or mulapos, springs and seeps.Examples of these are Makuri Pan near Tsumkwe and springs and seeps such as at Sesfontein, Gai-Ais, Orupembe and Naukluft.SWAMP ATTRACTION With conservation, these sites can attract tourists and provide economic benefits for local communities.Threats to wetlands in Namibia include over-utilisation of plant and animal resources due to population growth and poverty, over-withdrawal of river and ground water for irrigation and urban use, pollution by pesticides and industrial affluent.As a party to the United Nations Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (also known as the Ramsar Convention), Namibia has designated the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, Orange River Mouth and Etosha Pan as Ramsar Sites.The Ramsar Convention, which came into force in 1975, defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.”* This article, compiled by Absalom Shigwedha, is based on information contained in a booklet, ‘Wetlands of Namibia’ prepared by Danica Shaw, Shirley Bethune, Kevin Roberts and the Wetland Working Group of Namibia.PERENNIALS Estuarine wetland systems are partially enclosed bodies of water, which get alternating freshwater inflows from rivers and tidal inflows from the sea.Such wetlands are found at the mouths of the Kunene River and the Orange River.Another category is called riverine wetland systems, which include flowing rivers, their associated flood plains, some river mouths and freshwater lagoons.These rivers can either be perennial or ephemeral.Perennial rivers such as the Okavango, Zambezi, the Kwando-Linyanti-Chobe System and their flood plains fall in this group.The lacustrine wetland systems are classified as standing, open bodies of water with little or no vegetation such as lakes, pans and dams.In Namibia these include pans such as the Etosha Pan and the Nyae-Nyae Pan, and sinkhole lakes such as Otjikoto, Guinas Lake, Aigamas Cave and Dragon’s Breath Cave.Man-made dams such as the Hardap, Von Bach and Olushandja Dams are also part that category of wetlands.The fifth type of wetland found in Namibia is called a palustrine system – well-vegetated, standing water pools such as swamps, marshes, vleis or mulapos, springs and seeps.Examples of these are Makuri Pan near Tsumkwe and springs and seeps such as at Sesfontein, Gai-Ais, Orupembe and Naukluft.SWAMP ATTRACTION With conservation, these sites can attract tourists and provide economic benefits for local communities.Threats to wetlands in Namibia include over-utilisation of plant and animal resources due to population growth and poverty, over-withdrawal of river and ground water for irrigation and urban use, pollution by pesticides and industrial affluent.As a party to the United Nations Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (also known as the Ramsar Convention), Namibia has designated the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, Orange River Mouth and Etosha Pan as Ramsar Sites.The Ramsar Convention, which came into force in 1975, defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.” * This article, compiled by Absalom Shigwedha, is based on information contained in a booklet, ‘Wetlands of Namibia’ prepared by Danica Shaw, Shirley Bethune, Kevin Roberts and the Wetland Working Group of Namibia.

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