On 2 February AfriForum attended the wetlands seminar and workshop hosted by die Gauteng Wetlands Forum at the Botanical Gardens in Pretoria in celebration of World Wetlands Day. This follows after AfriForum became part of the Gauteng Wetlands Forum in 2018.
By being part of this forum, AfriForum is able to liaise with various role players (among others the Department of Water and Sanitation) and thus provide opinions to protect our wetlands.
Later this month AfriForum plans to clean wetlands in celebration of World Wetlands Day, which will commence with the clean-up of the Moreleta Park Nature Reserve’s wetlands.
“Wetlands are of crucial importance because it functions like natural dams. During heavy rains or thunderstorms wetlands absorb water like sponges and then release it slowly during the rest of the year. If wetlands are absent, this run-off water immediately washes away. Many of our rivers and streams are already polluted. Both floods and droughts are common and therefore it is necessary to look after our wetlands. Wetlands have the ability to decrease the severity of floods and droughts through the regulation of stream flow,” says Chris Boshoff, Coordinator for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.
“Humans are responsible for the conservation of wetlands and therefore ensuring that our necessary ecosystems function optimally. More than 50% of South African wetlands have already been destroyed or are showing deterioration,” Boshoff concludes.
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