RAMSAR Wetlands Across Africa and Benefits for African Cities: All You Need to Know

Urbanisation has become a defining trend of modern society. By 2050, it’s expected that more than 50% of the global population will reside in urban areas and cities. These trends pose an increasing threat and risk to the protection and sustainable use of freshwater ecosystems, such as wetlands. For decades wetlands were thought to have no “purpose” within a landscape. They can, however, provide cities with several important ecosystem services such as water purification, flood risk reduction, city cooling and recreation opportunities. In other words, wetlands are critically important ecosystems in The Cities We Want.

RAMSAR accredited wetlands enables positive publicity, not only for cities, but regions, on an international scale. There are currently over 400 RAMSAR sites and 5 RAMSAR wetland accredited cities across the African continent. Through the INTERACT-Bio project, ICLEI Africa is fortunate to be working with 3 regions in South Africa, that all have RAMSAR certified wetlands. The recognition of the importance of wetlands enables local governments to develop wetland-based socio-economic activities whilst also protecting their wetland ecosystems. This ambition supports the notion of the The Cities We Want as opposed to a scenario where wetlands are undervalued, not supporting social needs.

This session will engage local governments, scholars, wetland enthusiasts and youth representatives in a lively panel discussion on the exciting benefits of being awarded RAMSAR wetland status and also how cities can apply to the Wetland City accreditation scheme.