Wetlands are vital to the balance of rivers and crucial for the diversity of animal and vegetable species and need to be preserved.
They also assist in absorbing water which keeps the surrounding areas from flooding caused by raging storm waters.
It is for this reason that Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will be celebrating World Wetlands Day on Thursday at the Dorothy Nyembe Environmental Educational Centre, in Dobsonville.
MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, who will attend this important event with key stakeholders, said unity was of paramount importance in curbing the destruction of the estimated 35-60% of the country’s wetlands.
“Let us conserve and manage our wetlands as they are vital in the reduction of the severity of draughts and floods.
“Wetlands purity water and provide a habitat for many different plants and animals valuable to community’s daily lives,” Mayathula-Khoza urged.
Celebrated around the world on the 2nd February, Wetlands Day is aimed at creating awareness about the importance of wetlands conservation and the Ramsar Convention.
This convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
It is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem.
The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.