February 2 marks the 40th anniversary of World Wetlands Day, a commemorative environmental awareness day which was launched in Iran 40 years ago, with the purpose of building awareness worldwide of the vital importance of preserving and caring for our planet’s wetlands. In this country, we most commonly refer to a wetland as a vlei. We have several nature reserves across our country whose purpose is specifically to ensure the survival of critical wetlands, and in our capital, are found many vitally important wetlands which are under threat from human activity.
Cultivation is illegal in the city’s wetlands, but human need often supersedes legality, as people seek to grow crops in such vlei areas, to supplement the diet of their hungry families. Additionally, and rather tragically, more and more people are dumping their rubbish on wetlands, with unsightly and unsanitary consequences.
Even more worrying is an increasing incidence of actual construction taking place in wetlands. All these activities are ecologically devastating, and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) as well as interested environmental pressure groups, will aim to highlight the importance of wetland preservation, educating the public on the necessity to take care of these important green belts in the run up to World Wetlands Day, and during the event to commemorate it.
This year, Haka Game Park will be the setting for the EMA’s commemorative event. Haka, one of our city’s best kept secrets, has existed for over 20 years and is found adjacent to Cleveland Dam, occupying an area of approximately 25 square kilometres.
During the past 18 months, Haka, which is owned by the Harare City Council but leased privately, has embarked on a major project to develop its infrastructure further, and has established an electric game fence, improved its network of roads and extended its boundaries back to their original position. It is well populated with plains game.
The Haka management have over the years built strong relationships with council, National Parks, the EMA, and local communities bordering the Game park. Not surprisingly, Haka Game Park must contend with some resentment from people living nearby who have suffered and do suffer economic hardships, and accordingly, have regularly poached firewood and small game from the park.
Haka Game Park’s approach has been to hold regular meetings with both council and local community representatives, to enable local schools to bring parties of children into the park where they learn about the importance of ensuring the survival of the city’s green belts and wetlands, which information they then share with their families, and to find alternative areas where they can legally grow crops, unimpeded, with the agreement of the relevant government agencies.
The World Wetlands Day event at Haka starts at 9am on January 31 and is open to anyone interested. The event will be attended by Environment minister Francis Nhema, who will deliver a speech. Representatives of Haka Management, WWF, National Parks, Environment Africa, the City Council, the Forestry Commission, the local community, and various other interested stakeholders will also be in attendance.
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The event includes a Tree Planting Ceremony, during which 2 000 trees will be planted in the game park. Haka has established its own indigenous nursery and accordingly has 1 000 seedlings ready for the ceremony, with the balance coming via the forestry commission and other sources.
