|
|
Wetland Action has adopted guiding principles which it integrates into its various activities:
Awareness raising
Raising awareness of the importance of wetlands and their functions and benefits among stakeholders from the community to the international level, is a fundamental part of encouraging sustainable use. When the value of wetlands from their diverse services is recognised it is more likely that they will be used with care. Awareness of wetland values should build upon local knowledge and environmental economics. |
|
|
Food Security and Health
Wetlands can play a critical role in helping achieve food security by providing reliable crop production. Sometimes this is wet season production, but often it is supplementary dry season production which helps address “hungry” season food shortages. Wetlands are also critical sources of good quality water, from springs and shallow wells, that are essential for healthy living. By providing improved food security and safe water, as well as vitamins through the vegetables grown in them, wetlands can play an important role in improving the welfare of those suffering from HIV/AIDS. |
Poverty Reduction
Through opportunities for food production and through the provision of crafts materials, medicinal plants and sedges for thatching, wetland can help contribute to poverty reduction. In particular, many low cost and useful products can be made from wetland materials – such as sleeping mats, while wild plants and fish collected from wetlands can provide relish. For some households wetland can be a source of capital – from their market-oriented vegetable growing, for instance, and this can allow new enterprises to be developed – such as chicken rearing. |
Functional Landscape
Wetlands must be seen as functioning land facets. The services they provide, which produce economic benefits and maintain the environment, can only be maintained if the wetlands continue to function well. This involves understanding the link between wetlands and their catchments and how the two interact through hydrological flows and socio-economic relations. In addition, the management of wetlands to maintain water, soil and biodiversity is important for meeting local needs and for wider river basin management, such as flood control. |
Sustainable and Multiple use
The critical goal of Wetland Action is to ensure the long-term contribution of wetlands to rural livelihoods. This involves taking a functional landscape approach in order to ensure the sustained flow of water into the wetlands and preventing the development of gulleys and erosion in the wetlands. Avoiding excessive pressures from single use and encouraging the multiple use of wetlands helps achieve this with a balance achieved in wetland ecosystem services – both provisioning and regulatory. |
Multiple use of wetlands for a range of purposes, rather than one single use, has two key benefits:
|
|
|
Local Institution Development
For the sustainable use of wetlands to be achieved, local community institutions often need to be developed. These are essential for raising awareness, co-ordinating catchment and wetland land use, and for developing bye-laws to help enforce agreed management practices. |
|
|
Participatory action research
Wetland Action works with communities, NGOs and government agencies to address the needs they identify in relation to the sustainable use of wetlands and related natural resources. The aim is to work with all types of stakeholders, through the process from problem identification to the implementation of solutions. In all cases, activities should build upon existing local knowledge acquired over generations. |
| By using a participatory approach, the findings of research and the development of solutions for specific problems, relate directly to the needs and capacity of the specific stakeholders. Enhancing local capacity to develop wetland management strategies without a dependence on external inputs, is also an essential prerequisite to long-term wetland sustainability. |
Gender and socio-economic sensitivity
The differences within communities are exposed very clearly in wetland use and development.
In many areas access to water and some craft products are the key wetland resources for poor women. Grazing for cattle and horticultural activities are often what attract the richer men to wetlands. Wetland Action applies a gender and socio-economically sensitive approach to wetland use. Identifying these different interests is important in resolving conflicts which occur in wetland use and ensuring an equitable distribution of wetland benefits. |
|
|
|
Wetlands are multi-faceted, both in nature and in use. They must be approached in a holistic, or comprehensive, manner. Wetland Action uses its multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary expertise to address specific wetland issues. These are integrated within an overall approach that focuses on the interaction between human society and the physical environment. Problem-solving activities are undertaken in an inter-disciplinary manner which focuses on how different aspects of the wetlands and their surrounding catchments interact.
Wetland Action has links to various stakeholders involved in project implementation and research in sustainable wetland use. This network has links in Eastern and Southern Africa, Central and Eastern Asia and Latin America. Networking among NGOs, government partners and the donor community facilitates the exchange of information and ultimately an increase in awareness of wetland issues.
Top of page
|
