SADC makes progress on wetland sites

A NUMBER of SADC member states have made progress in protecting their wetlands, as required by the United Nations Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar Convention.

South Africa is leading the SADC race with 17 wetlands of international importance, followed by Namibia and Tanzania, who both have four Ramsar Sites, according to the SADC Programme on Wetlands. The International Union is implementing the programme for the Conservation of Nature, whose regional office for southern Africa is based in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.Namibia’s Ramsar Sites are the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, the Orange River Mouth and the Etosha Pan.Other wetlands that may qualify as wetlands of international importance but have not yet been designated are the Kunene River Mouth, Cape Cross Lagoon, the Swakopmund salt works, Lake Otjikoto, Lake Guinas, the Zambezi River floodplains and Lake Liambezi.Namibia acceded to the Ramsar Convention on December 23 1995.Botswana has one Ramsar Site, Lesotho one, Malawi one, Mauritius one and Mozambique one.The Malagarasi-Muyovozi was Tanzania’s wetland to be declared a Ramsar Site.Zimbabwe, Angola and Swaziland have not yet acceded to the Ramsar Convention.The SADC Programme on Wetlands started in 1987.Wetlands have to be preserved as they provide critical habitats for countless birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and other fauna and flora, threatened by extinction.Current pressures on wetlands are caused by over-exploitation due to human population growth and by pollution by pesticides, fertilisers and industrial effluent.The Ramsar Convention, which came into force in 1975, is a multi-lateral environmental agreement between world governments aimed at preventing loss and degradation of the world’s wetlandsThe International Union is implementing the programme for the Conservation of Nature, whose regional office for southern Africa is based in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.Namibia’s Ramsar Sites are the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Sandwich Harbour, the Orange River Mouth and the Etosha Pan.Other wetlands that may qualify as wetlands of international importance but have not yet been designated are the Kunene River Mouth, Cape Cross Lagoon, the Swakopmund salt works, Lake Otjikoto, Lake Guinas, the Zambezi River floodplains and Lake Liambezi.Namibia acceded to the Ramsar Convention on December 23 1995.Botswana has one Ramsar Site, Lesotho one, Malawi one, Mauritius one and Mozambique one.The Malagarasi-Muyovozi was Tanzania’s wetland to be declared a Ramsar Site.Zimbabwe, Angola and Swaziland have not yet acceded to the Ramsar Convention.The SADC Programme on Wetlands started in 1987.Wetlands have to be preserved as they provide critical habitats for countless birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and other fauna and flora, threatened by extinction.Current pressures on wetlands are caused by over-exploitation due to human population growth and by pollution by pesticides, fertilisers and industrial effluent.The Ramsar Convention, which came into force in 1975, is a multi-lateral environmental agreement between world governments aimed at preventing loss and degradation of the world’s wetlands