LAST week, Zambia joined the rest of the World in commemorating the International Wetlands Day, which falls on February 2 of every year.
Unfortunately, not much has happened beyond the designation as none of the wetlands have a management plan.
First of all, let me explain what wetlands are, for the sake of those that may not understand what I want to talk about.
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
This is according to Griffin Shanungu, who is Senior Ecologist in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, formerly Zambia Wildlife Authority under the Ministry of Tourism.
Currently, Mr Shanungu is the Project Coordinator for Zambia Crane and Wetlands Conservation Programme International Crane Foundation.
So, in other words, wetlands are areas that are flooded with water, either seasonally or permanently.
Inland wetland includes marshes, ponds, lakes, lagoons, rivers, flood plains and swamps, while man-made wetlands include fish ponds, salt pans and rice paddies.
Wetlands in Zambia occupy more than 20 per cent (150 520 km2) of the country’s total area of 752 600 km2.
The broad divisions of wetlands include swamps, floodplains and dambos.

Swamps
A swamp is a vast, usually inundated, depression that consists essentially of floating vegetation and wet peaty land.
The major swampy areas of Zambia are Busanga, Lukanga, Bangweulu swamps, Lake Mweru Wantipa and Lake Mweru marshes.
Floodplains
These are zones along major river systems that are low-lying and seasonally flooded.
Major floodplains with several kilometres wide occur along stretches of the Kafue, Zambezi, and Chambeshi rivers.
Floodplains are usually made up of a complex pattern of lagoons, oxbow lakes, back swamps, levees, cut-off river channels and terraces, offering a highly variable relief.
They are usually flooded towards the end of the rainy season.

Dambos
Dambos are seasonally or permanently wet grassy valleys, depressions, or seepage zones on slopes.
The first two often show a catenary sequence of soils, being well drained on the upper slopes and poorly to very poorly drained in low-lying areas.
Dambos have a polygenetic origin, but they are often essentially alluvial deposits and nearly always underlain by laterite at some depth in some cases at considerable depth.

And now the question is, what is the role of wetlands in ecosystems?
Wetlands provide many ecosystem services such as water quality improvement in watersheds, and carbon retention almost everywhere.
Plants from wetlands can help lessen water pollution, absorb some harmful fertilisers and pesticides.
The wetlands like Lukanga Swampa in Central Province help purify water, especially from the Kafue River that carries some heavy metals and toxins from mining companies.
After exiting the Lukanga Swamps, much of that water is purified and this is the water we end up drinking in Lusaka.
The Kafue Flats offers exclusive ecotourism and trophy hunting opportunities.
Despite all the beauty or benefits of the wetlands, they are however, under threat by uncontrolled or regulated human activities.
These activities have contributed to changes in the hydrology system, meaning reduction of seasonally flooded grasslands.
There is an increase in permanently flooded areas.
Geothermal and gypsum mining in Lochinvar National Park is a serious threat to the wetlands.
The human settlements fishing camps have increased in size, thus affecting the lechwe habitat.
The population of lechwe antelopes has declined by 70 per cent from 1970 to 2015 because poaching occurs daily all year round.
On average, a hunter can kill up to 10 lechwes in one hunting expedition.
Fish trading within the confines of the National Park has affected tourism development.
But the question many will ask at the end of it all is why does the situation goes unchecked?
The answer is simple; there is no policy in place!
The National Wetland Policy is long overdue and, as a result, there is no integrated policy direction on wetland management.
According to WWF Zambia Wetland and Water Stewardship manager Imakando Sinyama, it was just until the environmental management Act, No. 12 of 2011 that wetlands were recognised as deserving special protection.
The Act provides for the declaration of identified wetlands as protected areas, but very little has been achieved since this legal provision.
Given the important role of wet lands in the supply of water, better management and protection is increasingly in the spotlight in terms of economic development.
Mr Sinyama said this in a presentation during the commemoration of this year’s World Wetland Day under the theme “Wetland for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods”.
The theme was seeking to draw attention to the important role wetlands play in supporting sustainable livelihoods.
Some Zambians directly depend on wetlands for agriculture (both subsistence and commercial), fisheries, livestock rearing, water transport and tourism.
The local traditions and cultures are inextricably tied to wetlands; hence degrading of wetlands is a direct affront to cultural heritage.
In 1991, Zambia ratified to the Ramsar convention and has since designated eight wetlands of international importance that include the Kafue flats wetlands, Bangweulu swamps, and the Barotse (Zambezi) floodplains.
Others are Luangwa floodplains, Busanga swamps, Lukanga swamps, Lake Mweru-wa-Ntipa and Lake Tanganyuika.
Unfortunately, not much has happened beyond the designation of wetlands as of international importance, for example, none of the wetlands has a management plan, which is one of the key requirements under the Ramser convention.
On the other hand, against this background, what is the forward?
According to WWF Zambia country director Nyambe Nyambe, there is urgent need to implement relevant provisions such as the Water Resources Management Act and the Environmental Management Act.
Doing so will ensure that wetlands and other water  resource areas are better protected, sustainably managed and wisely used to  secure resilient biodiversity and ecosystems  services.
The current water crisis that the country is facing has severely impacted the economy and people’s livelihoods.
This crisis provides an opportunity for Government, businesses, both public and private, and civil society organisations to engage in collective action.
There is an imperative need to increase capacity for resource protection of wetlands in order to reduce poaching.
Investment in research and monitoring of wetlands is prudent in the wetland management system in order to know what is happening in these areas, so that this knowledge can be used to inform policy makers.
Currently, the country does not appreciate the value of the ecosystem services that wetlands contribute to the economy.
There is need to create institutions that will focus on management of wetlands as seen in other countries.
Developing financial sources for wetlands conservation and creating awareness about the benefits of wetlands is critical if the country has to draw maximum satisfaction from the areas.
Water stewardship is a clarion call for pragmatic accountability and action for the sustainable management of water resources.
Therefore, the long overdue National Wetlands Policy is urgently required to promote an integrated approach to wetlands management and establish appropriate institutional arrangements.
The conservation and restoration of wetlands should be a national priority.
Until next week, have a blessed week!