Liberia: World Wetlands Day: Time to Connect the Dots, Protect and Restore our Wetlands
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Loading... - Cynthia otoo
- 06 Feb 2023
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Driving through Monrovia and other urban centers, you see rivers and swamps choking under solid waste and suffocating under plastics. The country’s water bodies are slowly and surely being converted into toxic death traps for fish and other living creatures instead of being nurtured for refreshing waters and abundant healthy fish stocks. While the solid wastes directly pollute the waters, the floating plastics cut off oxygen supply such that the country’s wetlands could soon be unable to support any form of life.
Swamps, especially in Monrovia, are rapidly being filled to make way for the construction of homes and business centers, without any regard to the fact that these very wetlands are important for soaking up flood waters during the rains.
In coastal counties, fishing communities unsustainably cut down mangrove forests for firewood to dry their fish. This harvest of mangroves destroys the very future of Liberia’s fisheries – the breeding sites for fish, which is Liberia’s top source of protein and important source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of fisherfolk around the country. Cutting down mangroves for firewood reduces the country’s daily fish catch, thus driving communities dependent on fishing into poverty.
Some fisherfolk are using dynamite and other chemicals in a bid to maximize their fish catch. However, what they are doing is destroying an entire generation of fish, the adult stock, fingerlings and fish eggs, all in one blast. Some rural communities are doing the same thing using toxic plant species such as Dahoma (Piptadeniastrum africanum) in pursuit of large fish landings.
The long-term effect of destroying the entire fisheries in many of the country’s rivers and creeks using such means, is the systematic and deliberate destruction of the country’s food security. It is also destroying a key source of income for many people and an important source of national revenue, were the country’s fisheries sector properly harnessed.
Therefore, the World Wetlands Day, observed every year on February 2, is so important for raising awareness on the importance of wetlands, and the values, benefits and services they provide to us, humanity. While they may seem to be “idle” or “limitless”, these resources vital to our survival are under serious threat. There is a need to promote conservation and reconsider how we are (mis)using them. Read More…
