Wetlands Schools Journalists On Climate Change

Concord Times (Freetown)

Rachel Horner

22 June 2011

Freetown — WETLANDS International Africa will today conclude a three-day training of journalists from West Africa on cross learning dialogue on climate change adaptation in Freetown. The training covers topics related to ecosystem based adaption and its role in reducing the impacts of climate change and increase resilience to future impacts.

Senior Consultant Samuel Kofi Nyame said there are many types of wetlands “that contribute greatly to our resilience to the various impacts of climate change”. He said based on years of research, Wetlands International works in the field and at the policy level to maintain and improve this important function of wetlands in adapting to climate change.

Climate change, he said, is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. A wetland is a shallow seasonally or permanently water logged or flooded area, which normally supports hydrophytic vegetation.

Nyame said coastal wetlands consist of mangroves and coral reef, noting that mangrove forests and coral reefs reduce the impact of storms. “Mangroves can even cope with sea-level rise and provide protection from impacts of waves,” he said.

According to him, biofuels only sustainably produced are an alternative for fossil fuels. Wetlands International advocates against biofuels from wetlands with key value for carbon storage, biodiversity and water for people, he said.

The senior consultant further explained that wetlands are the source of water for the majority of the world’s population for drinking, water supply, sanitation, and agriculture as they absorb extreme water flows and provide water during droughts.

He said all over the world swamps with peat-soils are being drained, burnt, mined, and overgrazed and that as a result, huge quantities of organic carbon are released in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Westlands International’s Abdoulaye Ndiaye, who spoke on wetlands ecosystems, their values and functions and solution to climate change, gave examples of wetlands according to the Ramsar definition, including natural systems such as marshes, floodplains, peatlands, rivers, lakes, salt marshes, mangroves, estuaries, sea grass beds, swamp forest and even coral reefs. He said artificial systems such as rice fields, reservoirs, fishponds and constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment are also covered by the definition.

Ndiaye said ‘wetland value’ is the importance attached to the goods and services that a particular wetland provides and its attributes.

He heighted the role of species or ecosystems in the maintenance of essential life supporting processes (at different scales, ranging from the role of a particular tree species to flood control to the role of a tropical forest in global climate system). “The magnitude of ecological value is expressed through indicators, hence the importance of ecosystems as a source of non-material well-being through their influence on physical and mental health, historical, national, ethical, religious, and spiritual values.”

He said everyone in the world depends on nature and ecosystem services either directly or indirectly to provide conditions for a decent, healthy and secure life.

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