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Ivan Zhakata-Herald Correspondent

THE Second Republic has placed wetlands management at the core of its development agenda and put in place governance tools to ensure judicious use of these important ecological assets, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Mangaliso Ndlovu has said. 

Speaking during the World Wetlands Day commemorations yesterday, Minister Ndlovu said Government developed the National Wetlands Masterplan, the National Wetlands Policy and the National Wetlands Management Guidelines in 2021 to ensure that the nation was guided. 

World Wetlands Day is commemorated to mark the signing of the treaty on the conservation of wetlands, which was done on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, focusing on national action and international cooperation. 

The treaty became popularly known as the Ramsar Convention and its aim is to raise public awareness on conservation, proper use and management of wetlands and their resources. 

The commemorations ran under the theme “It’s time for wetland restoration” which amplifies the urgent need for restoration of wetlands. 

“During the development of the wetlands masterplan, it was found that 17,63 percent of the wetlands are in a pristine condition, 55,65 percent moderately degraded and 26,72 percent severely degraded,” Minister Ndlovu said. 

“In addition, Government has already, through a gazette, declared wetland sites in urban and rural areas as ecologically sensitive areas with a total area of 20 751,21 hectares in line with Section 113 of the Environmental Management Act where the limitations to their use may be imposed.

“The gazetting does not affect the proprietary rights, but only governs how such pieces of land are put into use and in the process affecting the nature and type of development which restricts high impact developments that degrade the ecologically sensitive area and encourages non-consumptive developments.” 

Minister Ndlovu said the spatial extent and magnitude of development can be limited to ensure that ecologically sensitive areas maintain their ecological integrity.

Planned interventions should promote the adoption of appropriate green engineering and technology that encourage ecologically sensitive areas to maintain their integrity. 

“The development on ecologically sensitive area comes with certain management approaches which may be management plans and use permits,” Minister Ndlovu said. 

“Wetland restoration dovetails well with my Ministry’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) target of increasing areas of wetlands that are sustainably managed. I am happy to inform you that since 2021, a total of 103 wetlands with a total area of 350 550 hectares were put under sustainable management across the whole country and more such projects are yet to be implemented.”