Call for Action to Protect Wetlands for People and Nature
World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on February 2 to raise awareness about wetlands.This year’s theme, as set by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, is “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”.
The 2022 theme highlights the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for humans and the health of the planet.
Vanuatu is party to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), whose activities in the country are carried out by the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) under the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation.
The first site for Vanuatu that DEPC has registered as the first internationally recognised Ramsar wetland site is Lake Letas on Gaua.
Lake Letas is Vanuatu’s biggest lake and one of the largest volcanic lakes in the Pacific.
The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
Wetlands are areas where there is presence of water on land such as lakes and rivers and along the coastal areas that are critically important to ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability and much of the world economies
A lot of wetlands have been used as dumpsites and converted for development purposes.
While it is good for development purposes, wetlands are an ecosystem and habitat to some rare and endemic flora and fauna.
Acting Director of DEPC, Rolenas Tavue Baereleo, said “as we celebrate this day, we want to think about ways we can protect and manage our wetlands in a way that it continues to provide the ecosystem services to our rare and endemic species as well as sustaining our livelihoods”.
Vanuatu has around 13 sites that qualify as national wetlands and these include Lake Letas on Gaua, ‘Duck’ Lake above Teouma on Efate, Port Stanley on Malekula and Blue Hole on Santo.
The United Nations General Assembly last year in August adopted a Resolution that established February 2 as World Wetlands Day and has invited its member states to observe the day, to ensure greater global visibility for wetlands.