Today, on World Wetlands Day, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo is reminding residents that wetlands are not wastelands, they are living systems that protect our water, our health and our heritage.
Across the city, wetlands are under serious threat from litter, illegal dumping, sewer leaks, erosion, log jams and the growing pressure of people forced to live along our rivers and streams.
When wetlands fail, communities pay the price through pollution, flooding and loss of biodiversity.
Johannesburg Managing Director went on to reprement people about to avoid using any free area/space as dumping side.
Managing Director, Thanduxolo Mendrew, said: “When wetlands are choked by waste or damaged by neglect, the cost is paid by both nature and people.
“Protecting them is not optional it’s a shared responsibility.”
The city went on committe itself to ensure that they will doing everything within their power to protect and not allow land to be affected by illegal dumping.
This year’s theme, Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge, reminds us that our ancestors protected these spaces as places of healing and life.
JCPZ will mark Wetlands Month in Diepkloof, Soweto, by combining education, indigenous knowledge and hands-on clean-up action.
On World Wetlands Day, we call on everyone to respect our wetlands, protect our water, and care for the spaces that sustain us all.
BY LUCKY SEANEGO
