MANILA -- An international scientist and environmental advocate is calling for measures that will protect wetlands from encroachment and other ills of urbanization.
"We encourage cities to adopt policies and actions, which will help conserve urban wetlands," Martha Rojas Urrego, secretary general of an international advocacy group for wetlands, Ramsar Convention, said in her message for the global annual World Wetlands Day celebration this year.
World Wetlands Day is on February 2 of every year. The organization gives this year's celebration the theme "Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future."
Urrego said that urbanization or growth of population in urban areas was increasingly threatening wetlands.
She said four billion people - about half of the world’s population - already lived in urban areas and this number was expected to increase by 2050, as more people migrated to cities searching for jobs and better opportunities.
"As cities grow and demand for land increases, the tendency is to encroach on wetlands," she warned.
Encroachment is a real threat, since people often view wetlands as a wasteland, she points out, sometimes using wetlands for dumping trash.
Wetlands were prized land, Urrego said, so authorities must integrate these areas into urban development and management plans.
"When preserved and sustainably used, urban wetlands can provide cities with multiple economic, social, and cultural benefits," she said.
Ramsar Convention is an international agreement promoting conservation and wise use of wetlands worldwide to help bring forth sustainable development.
It defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”
The Convention said wetlands included "all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, as well as all human-made sites, such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans."
The global celebration of World Wetlands Day on Feb. 2 every year aims to raise awareness about wetlands' importance.
The 2018 World Wetlands Day's theme, highlighted the role of wetlands in sustainable urbanization, Urrego said.
She added wetlands absorbed excess rainfall, mitigating urban flooding.
Vegetation in wetlands helped improve water quality by filtering domestic and industrial waste, she continued.
Wetlands also supplied water and were recreational spaces that helped promote human well-being, she said further.
"Urban wetlands are essential and contribute to making cities liveable," she said.
Urrego said the first cities to obtain Wetland City Accreditation under the Ramsar Convention would receive recognition in October 2018.
"We hope such pioneer cities will serve as catalysts and inspire deliberate actions that set us on a pathway towards sustainable urbanization," she said.
The recognition ceremony in Dubai would be during the 13th meeting of Ramsar Convention's Conference of the Parties, she said. (PNA)
