The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) calls on the public to adopt wetlands and play an active role in ensuring that they are protected, preserved, restored, and sustained as they play a major role in water quality, stream flow regulation and water security.

Annually the world comes together on 02 February to highlight the importance of wetlands in celebrating World Wetlands Day. This year’s theme was “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”.

The theme is a clarion call to take action to protect and sustain wetlands. It is basically an appeal to invest financial, human, and political capital to save the wetlands from disappearing and to restore those that have been degraded.

Wetlands play a major role in water quality. Wetlands play a vital role by removing toxic substances and sediments from the water while improving downstream water quality and the overall health of the river system and communities. Wetlands also help to reduce the severity of droughts and floods by regulating stream flows.

Wetlands are effective in spreading out and slowing down floodwaters which reduces stream flows and thereby reduce the severity of floods downstream.

Wetlands also play a major role in water security as they act as sponges and absorb water during rainy and wet periods and release it during the dry seasons. Wetlands also help to recharge groundwater ensuring access to water. This is more than critical for South Africa as a water scarce country.

Wetlands provide a natural solution to climate change as they store carbon within their plant communities and soil instead of releasing it to the atmosphere thus helping to moderate global climate change conditions.

They are basically the most effective carbon sinks. DWS calls on the public to protect and preserve wetlands as they provide social, economic, and environmental benefits to communities leading to poverty alleviation. Wetlands provide certain plants that are used for economic benefits for communities.

Wetlands are also home to special species, especially bird species which attract tourist leading to benefits for the tourism sector and local communities.