Ghana joins other Countries in the World today, 2nd of February 2021 to commemorate World Wetlands Day.
World Wetlands Day, 2021 is anchored on the theme, “Wetlands and Water”— throwing a spotlight on wetlands as a source of freshwater and encouraging actions to restore them and stop their loss.
The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on the planet.
Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing, and the health of our planet.
This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea thus it has been 50 years since this pact was signed.
In the past, wetlands were virtually considered as “wastelands” or areas that only served for breeding mosquitoes. As such, they were dredged to facilitate drainage of the water, reclaimed for other uses, or simply considered as dumping grounds for all types of refuse. Wetlands resources, such as fish, reeds, mangroves, and thatch materials were harvested indiscriminately without any attempt to regulate their exploitation.
However, since 1971, when the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention, 1971) came into force, wetlands have been internationally recognized as ecosystems of considerable importance, comparable to our forests, rangelands, and marine ecosystems.
Ghana has been a signatory to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty focusing on the conservation of wetlands of international importance, since 1988 and in June 1999 the Ministry of Lands and Forestry launched the National Land Policy to further recognize wetlands as environmental conservation areas.
Ghana’s Wetland Resources Wetland ecosystems in Ghana constitute about ten percent of the country’s total land surface. Based on the criteria of the Ramsar Convention, three main types of wetlands are identified in Ghana. These are:
1. Marine/Coastal Wetlands
2. Inland Wetlands
3. Man-Made Wetlands.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora