The 2nd of February was World Wetlands Day.
This is a day set to celebrate and appreciate the beautiful habitats. It also serves to remind us that we need to conserve and protect this vital natural resource.
So, what exactly is a wetland?
According to UNESCO, "wetlands are ecosystems seasonally or permanently saturated with water. This can include all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans".
What is the value of wetlands?
- Promote biodiversity - wetlands are home to many plant, fish and wildlife species.
- Water purification - wetlands plants remove pollutants through sediment trapping, nutrient removal and chemical detoxification.
- Water storage- wetlands are often referred to as natural sponges because of their ability to soak up water during high runoff periods and release it slowly into the ground. This helps control the severity of floods and erosion.
- Their ability to recharge groundwater helps in addressing water scarcity issues.
- Wetlands may reduce risk to public safety and damage to property due to flood water or stormwater runoff.
- They offer recreational and economic benefits through hiking, boat rides, fishing, bird watching, canoeing and photography.
- Provide products for home use and crafts, including fuelwood for cooking, fish, wild rice and fruits for food, reeds for weaving baskets and mats, thatch for roofing, fibres for textiles and papermaking, and timber for building. Medicines can be extracted from tree barks, leaves, and fruits, and the plants also provide tannins and dyes.
- The diverse and abundant vegetation and animal species give wetlands a high aesthetic value. These visually rich environments usually attract people to see wildlife, have picnics and capture nature's beauty through the camera lenses.
- Wetlands provide opportunities for education, research and innovation. Researchers can study the historical changes in climate and vegetation over thousands of years, which can help develop future solutions. Also, by studying and understanding the functioning of wetlands, new solutions to engineering and design can be drawn, e.g. through biomimicry.
How can we conserve wetlands?
Wetlands are often under threat from many human activities, and it takes everyone's effort to ensure that the wetlands are safe and protected. This can be done by:
- Not dumping waste in wetlands
- Not cultivating in wetlands
- Not building and settling in wetlands
- Adopting a wetland stream as a community or school and closely monitor and protect it
- Raising awareness in your community, school and university
- Guard and being vigilant against any element that could threaten the existence and functionality of wetlands
- Avoid overutilization of wetland resources
