Today Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating the World Wetlands Day (WWD).
This year the day is being commemorated under the theme Wetlands and water inseparable for life.
WWD is celebrated on 2 February every year to mark the importance of wetlands.
Meanwhile, for Zimbabwe the day comes at the time there has been rampant disregard of the importance of wetlands.
Local authorities and land barons have been parceling out residential stands on wetlands.
In Chitungwiza, houses built on wetlands were left flooded after heavy downpours hit the area.
This year’s theme for WWD highlights the importance of wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages action to restore them and stop their loss.
This is especially important as we mark the UN Decades of Ocean Science and Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
And the UNESCO World Heritage Convention works continuously with other entities to protect the most important wetland systems in the world.
Wetlands are currently protected under different designations, including the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme and others, and some of these overlap.
According to the World Heritage Review on Wetlands, more than 130 Ramsar sites are wholly or partially inscribed in 90 World Heritage sites, and all of these places have exceptional properties.
-Zwnews
