Communities key in wetlands conservation – KAZA
BUSINESS REPORTER
The global community celebrated the 2022 World Wetlands Day amid calls by the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) for communities to be central in conservation efforts.
The day is celebrated to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997.
KAZA TFCA Secretariat executive director Nyambe Nyambe said his organisation acknowledges centrality of communities to the “sustainable management and utilisation of wetlands through the implementation of various natural resources management initiatives”.
“We are also aware that the cultures of some of these communities are intricately linked to wetlands and will continue leveraging this connection for the benefit of people and the environment,” Nyambe said.
He said KAZA’s collaboration with the two river basin organisations – the Permanent Okavango and Zambezi Watercourse Commissions—will continue producing strategic gains towards stronger transboundary water resources management.
“The urgency for collective action to avert further wetlands degradation and loss is self-evident and compelling. Biodiversity loss due to wetlands degradation over the years and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the region and their devastating impacts, are key concerns,” Nyambe said.
He said this year’s World Wetlands Day is an opportunity for the KAZA Secretariat to reflect and appreciate the important role that partnerships have played in driving achievements, addressing threats, and preparing it to seize the opportunities for sustainable management of the highly sensitive and life-supporting wetlands across the KAZA landscape.
Nyambe said the transboundary fisheries management is progressively moving from idea to tangibility, with three of the Partner States observing the closed fishing season and the establishment of fishery reserves in parts of the Zambezi and Okavango Rivers, with plans for similar measures in other river stretches.
The partnerships resulted in the establishment of the Kwando River Joint Action Group and the development of the following strategic reports: Kwando State of the Basin and Kwando River Basin 2021 Report Card.
There was also promotion of transboundary governance including six Transboundary Natural Resources Management Forums which serve as platforms for the co-creation of solutions and actions between transboundary communities and resource management and/or enforcement institutions.
