Media Release: Safeguarding Wetlands and Preserving Nature’s Ability to Filter and Supply Clean Water

For Immediate Release
5 May 2021

Wetlands are of immense value as it contributes to ecosystems, for instance, flood control, water filtration and security, which are increasingly important in the context of climate change. Therefore, the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) seeks to enhance the conservation and management of the district’s natural wetland resources by integrating biodiversity considerations into local government planning and decision-making. Subsequently, the GRDM developed a Wetlands Strategy and Implementation Plan. These strategic documents are essential tools that enable dynamic wetland protection and management going into the future.

Wetlands are gradually vanishing around the globe, and with that, also the important ecosystem services that they provide.

OUR OBJECTIVES AND MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES RELATING TO WETLANDS
The Garden Route District Municipality recognises the complex socio-ecological interactions relating to wetland protection and has therefore adopted the following objectives and management principles:

FIVE (5) OBJECTIVES:

1 – Ensuring wetland protection

2 – Ensuring long-term sustainable wetland use

3 – Research and monitoring

4 – Climate change mitigation and adaptation

5 – Ensuring up to date spatial information and mapping

SIX (6) MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:

1 – Maintenance of connectivity

2 – Maintenance of landscape heterogeneity

3 – Maintenance of biodiversity & complexity

4 – Maintenance of intact aquatic ecosystems

5 – Disturbance identification to guide management

6 – Maintenance of important wetland functioning

Careful management and the investment in the maintenance of healthy wetlands and the rehabilitation and restoration of damaged or degraded wetlands are critical. It will ensure the continued provision of vital ecosystem services, especially within areas where rapid environmental and water ecosystem degeneration occurs. Contributing factors to the degeneration of ecosystems include, amongst others, population density increases, unprecedented property and industry development.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CATEGORIES

All wetland types can be classified as high value’ ecological infrastructure’ due to the large number of ecosystem services that they provide. Wetland ecosystem services can be classified into four separate categories: ‘ provisioning services’, ‘regulating services’, ‘cultural services’, and ‘supporting services’.

Provisioning services can be described as the products one can physically obtain from wetlands and regulatory services can be described as the benefits one receives from the wetland. Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits that one can obtain from wetlands. Lastly, supporting services are the services provided that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services.

MORE BENEFITS OF KEEPING WETLANDS HEALTHY

Wetlands have been identified as storehouses of carbon. Wetlands are estimated to store more than 25% of the world’s total land area. Wetlands also contribute significantly to the water purification and filtration function of trapping a wide range of substances. Such substances include suspended sediment, excess nutrients, phosphorus, nitrogen, pesticide residue, industrial effluent, pathogenic bacteria and viruses. High concentrations of these substances are prevented from reaching groundwater supplies or surface water downstream, which results in communities being able to enjoy clean drinkable water.

IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING WETLANDS

Wetland protection goes beyond wetland conservation to ensuring that local communities within the district can continue with subsistence initiatives. This is linked to the sustainable use of wetland plants and fish to support their diets and health. Many of the plants growing within and around wetlands have natural medicinal properties and local communities harvest these plants to maintain/improve their health.

Small-scale entrepreneurs and traders in the Garden Route harvest reeds from the wetlands to make baskets and furniture, grasses for thatching and Arum lilies to sell. Fishing local fish to sell on and bait collecting (small juvenile fish, prawns, and blood worms) is common to support the local informal fishing industry.

COST IMPLICATIONS OF UPKEEPING ECOSYSTEMS

Numerous ecosystem services provided by wetlands come at no cost to a municipality, and as such, everyone has a responsibility to protect and maintain local wetlands. However, the improper management of wetlands can cause a loss of wetland area and subsequent loss of ecosystem services. This results in the municipalities having to do damage control by investing in expensive infrastructure (e.g. water filtration plants or flood barriers) to ensure the same level of service delivery is upheld. The implementation of the GRDM Wetlands Strategy and Implementation Plan is therefore critical, especially when it comes to sustainable future water security within the district.

Continued community and stakeholder collaboration and partnerships are essential in order to achieve wetland protection objectives. Due to climate change and other increasing risks, “business as usual” will not be sustainable. The municipality and stakeholders need to adapt to a new normal. One central issue that needs to be adapted is community upliftment opportunities and products/services for sustainable wetland use. Others include wetlands prioritisation and following international best practices, new technologies, and methodologies, to name a few.

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