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Sifelani Tsiko-Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor

Zimbabwe’s National Wetlands Policy and Wetlands Management Guidelines was launched in February 2022 to promote the protection of the country’s wetlands in order to sustain their ecological and social-economic functions.

Despite the formal policy, wetlands continue to be drained and converted.

Environmental pressure groups say the country’s agencies still struggle to implement the wetland policies due to a shortage of funding, bureaucratic discord, land barons and lack of wetland knowledge.

Compliance with the policies is still a huge challenge. For years, Zimbabwe had no national wetland policy but only wetland legislation.

Despite this gap, unwritten policies were shaped by indigenous tradition and practice at each of the major wetland sites.

The majority of the people are still not aware of the existence and rationale of the policies and laws governing the conservation of wetlands due to limited awareness, education and enforcement by responsible institutions.

The development of the National Wetlands Policy, the National Wetlands Management Guidelines and the National Wetlands Masterplan is a welcome and positive move for the country.

However, awareness and implementation are a missing link.

The policies are, the legal provisions are there and practical implementation is weak resulting in less impact.

Environmentalists say poor implementation of legislation was due to inadequate resources for regulatory agencies, interference, social conflicts and high incidences of poverty among other factors.

Awareness and lack of enforcement still remain a huge drawback in all efforts to restore and conserve wetlands.

Adequate resources are needed for regulatory institutions and alternative livelihood strategies for communities must be developed.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and other development agencies working in the country should be supported to roll out more rural survival options such as restoration of dryland agricultural productivity by introducing water harvesting and conservation farming techniques.

Experts say this can help to reduce community dependency on already vulnerable wetland ecosystems.

This year, the World Wetlands Day is being commemorated under the theme: “It’s time for wetlands restoration.”

The theme highlights the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration and calls on nations to take steps to revive and restore degraded wetlands.

“It is shocking to say the least that wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. About 34,96 percent of Zimbabwe is wetland and of these 17,63 percent are pristine, 55,65 percent moderately degraded and 26,72 percent severely degraded,” said EMA in a statement.

“This is a cause for concern and we must do something to judiciously protect what is left and reverse what has been degraded through restoration.”

Wetlands provide society with numerous benefits. We need to safeguard wetlands that are habitats to a wide range of plants and wildlife. They are responsible for recharging the water table, filtering and purifying water, preventing soil erosion, siltation and flooding.

Wetlands present a platform for ecological services, regulating and providing convenient water for many communities supporting fauna and flora. Wetlands are also handy in purifying and replenishing ground water.

They act as sponges in holding water during the rainy season before releasing it slowly to the surface. They are buffer zones that reduce flooding and mitigate against climatic disasters such as droughts.

Wetlands also provide a wide variety of recreational opportunities such as fishing, hunting, photography and wildlife observation.

In a statement to mark the World Wetlands Day, Convention on Wetlands secretary general, Dr Musonda Mumba expressed concern over the rapid loss of wetlands globally.

“Wetlands support critical ecosystems and biodiversity. Forty percent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Wetlands are rich in nature and vital to human life. They are crucial to agriculture and fisheries. They act as water sources, purifiers and protect our shores. Wetlands are the planet’s greatest natural carbon stores,” he said.

“To date, nearly 90 percent of the world’s wetlands have been degraded or lost. We are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. 

“There is an urgency to raise global awareness on wetlands to arrest and reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to restore and conserve these vital ecosystems.”

He said governments and other stakeholders are critical actors towards ensuring wetland restoration actions are being implemented on the ground.

Dr Mumba said restoration efforts could be spearheaded through creating a national inventory of wetlands, setting specific targets for wetland restoration and promoting wise use and good management practices.

It is now 52 years ever since the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran, as an international treaty to strengthen the management and wise use of wetland resources.

World Wetlands Day is held on February 2 annually to celebrate the 1971 adoption of the International Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian City of Ramsar.

Every year, Zimbabwe joins other countries across the world to promote the efficient conservation and legal protection of wetlands which are coming under increasing threat due to human activities.

Zimbabwe now needs to take practical steps to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future through collaboration with various local and international organisations.

The country, which ratified the Ramsar Treaty in 2011, now has seven wetlands that have been declared as Ramsar sites.

Laws that criminalise wetland abuse include the Environmental Management Act, Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, Urban Councils Act and Traditional Leaders Act.

The country has seven protected wetland sites and has a total of 1 117 wetlands covering 793 348 hectares which is about 1,5 percent of the country’s land area.

Wetlands that have been declared as Ramsar sites include the Monavale Vlei, Cleveland Dam, Mana Pools, Lake Chivero, Driefontein Grasslands, Chinhoyi Caves and the Victoria Falls National Park.

Monavale Vlei, Lake Chivero and Victoria Falls wetlands were once on the verge of complete destruction through rapid urbanisation but intense lobbying saved the fragile ecosystems.

Raising awareness, strengthening enforcement and implementing the wetland policy remains key to the survival of wetlands — the fragile ecosystems dotted around the country.