Ramsar to set sights on health and wetlands

‘HEALTHY Wetlands, Healthy People,’ is the theme for the 10th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar Convention, to be held in Asia this month.

This theme emphasises the connection of healthy wetlands with human health. When wetlands are mismanaged, it can lead to waterborne diseases because of poor sanitation.Namibia is a party to the Ramsar Convention.The 158 countries that have ratified the convention will gather in Changown in the Republic of Korea from October 28 to November 4 to assess the progress of the convention and the sustainable use of wetlands to date, share knowledge and experience on technical issues and plan their work for the next three years.So far, Namibia has four wetlands of international importance – the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, Etosha Pan and the Orange River Mouth.To date, 1 782 wetland sites are included in the Ramsar List of International Importance, covering over 161 million hectares of the earth’s surface.Signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea in 1971 and coming into force in 1975, the Ramsar Convention is an inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the wise utilisation of wetlands and their resources.According to a booklet, ‘Wetlands of Namibia’ by Shirley Bethune, Danica Shaw, Kevin Roberts and the Wetland Working Group of Namibia, wetlands have to be preserved as they provide important goods and services essential to human and other species’ survival.Water, which maintains all life process in the environment and is habitat to all aquatic plants and animals, is a major wetland resource.Reeds and sedges grow in wetlands and these are used as materials for household items such as baskets and fish traps.Grasses provide grazing for livestock and wildlife while trees provide shade and wood for fuel and canoes.Rivers also carry sediment or silt which can be rich in nutrients and important for agriculture.Flood plains, or oshanas as they are known in northern Namibia, are often rich in fertile soil and even when dry, can support a wide variety of life and activities such as grazing, gardening and agriculture.In some areas, wetlands are an important source of salt.Ecologically, wetland vegetation and flood plains regulate river flow, helping to control local and downstream floods.Wetlands also prevent soil erosion.Riparian vegetation in and adjacent to wetlands and rivers stabilises riverbanks by holding the soil and preventing erosion.Wetlands recharge groundwater aquifers.When an ephemeral river flows, water can eventually seep through the riverbed into an underground aquifer.This happens if the layers of the riverbed are permeable, allowing water to pass through them.Threats to wetlands in Namibia include over-utilisation of plants and animal resources due to population growth and poverty, over-withdrawal of river and groundwater for irrigation and urban use and pollution by pesticides and industrial effluents.When wetlands are mismanaged, it can lead to waterborne diseases because of poor sanitation.Namibia is a party to the Ramsar Convention.The 158 countries that have ratified the convention will gather in Changown in the Republic of Korea from October 28 to November 4 to assess the progress of the convention and the sustainable use of wetlands to date, share knowledge and experience on technical issues and plan their work for the next three years.So far, Namibia has four wetlands of international importance – the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, Etosha Pan and the Orange River Mouth.To date, 1 782 wetland sites are included in the Ramsar List of International Importance, covering over 161 million hectares of the earth’s surface.Signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea in 1971 and coming into force in 1975, the Ramsar Convention is an inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the wise utilisation of wetlands and their resources.According to a booklet, ‘Wetlands of Namibia’ by Shirley Bethune, Danica Shaw, Kevin Roberts and the Wetland Working Group of Namibia, wetlands have to be preserved as they provide important goods and services essential to human and other species’ survival.Water, which maintains all life process in the environment and is habitat to all aquatic plants and animals, is a major wetland resource.Reeds and sedges grow in wetlands and these are used as materials for household items such as baskets and fish traps.Grasses provide grazing for livestock and wildlife while trees provide shade and wood for fuel and canoes.Rivers also carry sediment or silt which can be rich in nutrients and important for agriculture.Flood plains, or oshanas as they are known in northern Namibia, are often rich in fertile soil and even when dry, can support a wide variety of life and activities such as grazing, gardening and agriculture.In some areas, wetlands are an important source of salt.Ecologically, wetland vegetation and flood plains regulate river flow, helping to control local and downstream floods.Wetlands also prevent soil erosion.Riparian vegetation in and adjacent to wetlands and rivers stabilises riverbanks by holding the soil and preventing erosion.Wetlands recharge groundwater aquifers.When an ephemeral river flows, water can eventually seep through the riverbed into an underground aquifer.This happens if the layers of the riverbed are permeable, allowing water to pass through them.Threats to wetlands in Namibia include over-utilisation of plants and animal resources due to population growth and poverty, over-withdrawal of river and groundwater for irrigation and urban use and pollution by pesticides and industrial effluents.