Enabling Healthy Nile Basin Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction
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By Leonard O. Akwany
Natural hazards such as floods and drought have become more prevalent
in the Nile River Basin - as a result of climate and weather changes -
resulting in massive disasters which drain communities economically,
physically and environmentally.
Wetlands are naturally productive ecosystems which are capable of
managing the risk of disasters to communities. They can contain flood
water, which helps cushion communities against floods. When there’s
drought, they release the water which supports livelihoods. Aside from
their buffering effects, wetlands also act as water purifiers.
The Nile river basin has a complex system of wetlands in 11 countries,
namely; Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda,
South Sudan, The Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. These wetlands provide
not only physical benefits but also ecosystem services, which sustain
the local communities directly or indirectly dependent on wetlands.
They supply water for both domestic and commercial use and provide
food including fish and wild plants. The wetlands are also home to
charismatic birds and wild animals and give authentic aesthetic
experiences, which are key to the development of tourism.
The Sudd Wetland, which is the largest freshwater wetland in the Nile
Basin and is also one of the largest flood plains in the world,
extending up to 130,000 square kilometers during rainy seasons, boasts
over 100 fish species, 400 bird species and an important stopover site
for water birds including a significant number of migratory bird
species.
The Sudd wetland has been designated as one of the wetlands of
International importance and has a large natural resource base which
supports agriculture, livestock, fisheries and wildlife. Additionally,
Sudd Wetland is critical for the basal water flow of river Nile
benefiting associated biodiversity and livelihoods, especially of
downstream communities.
Despite all the benefits offered by these wetlands, they continue to
be heavily fragmented, degraded and reclaimed due to human activities
such as encroachment for settlement, conversion into agricultural
lands owing to population pressure, grey infrastructural development
and poor implementation of policies protecting wetlands.
The continued destruction of wetlands only works to compromise their
health and integrity and consequently, are unable to execute their
functions as natural buffers against natural disasters.
The Nile Basin Initiative is working towards the maintenance of
healthy wetlands and restoration of degraded ones as this is
imperative to disaster risk reduction. At the 2016 inaugural Nile
Basin Wetlands Forum, which was attended by representatives from 10
member states and other key stakeholders, participants identified a
number of challenges. These range from inadequate governance
instruments, infrastructural and agricultural encroachment, minimal
trans-boundary collaborations within the Nile Basin trans-boundary
wetlands and inadequate baseline information.
The possible inspiring interventions proposed include building
baseline information, restoration of the wetlands, development of a
Wetlands Atlas, wetland management and investment plans, economic
valuation of wetlands and their associated resources, enactment of
national policies and legislations and re-awakening of dry land
wetlands. These interventions would boost wetlands’ capability in
disaster risk reduction and ultimately build resilience. NBI will be
working towards scaling and replicating these interventions in
trans-boundary wetlands and wetlands of regional significance.
Nile Basin Initiative in collaboration with German Development Agency
(GIZ) is implementing a programme under the theme of Biodiversity
Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Ecosystem Services of
Wetlands of Trans-boundary Relevance in the Nile Basin. The main goal
of this programme is to strengthen the technical and institutional
capacities of riparian States and other stakeholders for sustainable
management of these wetlands for benefits stated herein.
Strategically NBI Wetlands work is anchored on The Wetlands Management
Strategy developed in 2013 and focused on providing direction on
sustainable utilization of Nile Basin Wetlands. Additionally, Nile
Basin Initiative Wetlands work is geared towards supporting the
riparian states meet their obligations under Ramsar Convention,
Convention on Biological Diversity, Climate Change Adaptation and
Sustainable Development Goals.
Finally, NBI is establishing a NileWet Network Platform as regional
forum linked to Ramsar convention to provide a platform for
collaboration between governments, technical experts, international
NGOs, local communities and private companies working on wetlands in
the Nile Basin for desired critical mass in working towards enabling
healthy River Nile Basin wetlands for disaster risk reduction and
general Nile Basin wetlands sustainability.
The writer is a Regional Wetlands Expert at Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat
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