The 2019 Wetlands Sustainability Report

    Protecting wetlands and using them wisely are critical to achieving sustainable development. Wetlands provide valuable ecosystem goods and services, including storing and purifying water, providing essential sources for all living things, and protecting us from disasters. Yet, the authoritative Global Wetland Outlook released by the Ramsar Convention in 2018 highlighted an alarming trend in wetland loss; at least 35% of the world’s natural wetlands have been lost since 1970.

      NET Africa is an environmental management, audit and conservation NGO with a focus on wetlands in Africa including lakes, rivers, swamps, marshes, peatlands, mangroves and coral reefs. Its projects include wetland economic, socio-cultural evaluation; protection and conservation of wetland; capacity building, audits, training, and workshops; wetland research; as well as stakeholder engagement, citizen science programs, and education in schools.

      NET Africa launches the weekly wetlands sustainability report to raise awareness about the holistic value of wetlands as well as the importance of making the links between SDGs, citizen participation (particularly ingenious populations and gender-related issues) in environmental management, conservation, and wetlands. The wetlands sustainability report will feature different aspects of the value of wetlands across Africa, focusing on a wide range of environmental, social, cultural, economic, political and sustainable issues.

The key issues of this report are:

• Making the important connections between SDG 4 Education, schools, indigenous populations, wetlands and citizen science.
• Sio-Siteko Wetland and current challenges
• Introducing the new national SDG Youth Ambassador Jacinta Ruguru, Country representative for Kenya.

      NET Africa is currently recruiting young environmental professionals, who have recently completed their university degree to contribute to our weekly sustainability report, to write about wetlands, SDGs and people participation in Africa on a voluntary basis. The young person (aged 20 – 35 years old) will need to be based in Africa. 

For more information, please click here. 

The content was originally posted on https://www.netafrica.be

Photo Credit: Charles Kottler

_DISCLAIMER:

_{The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the SDG Philanthropy Platform. The SDG Philanthropy Platform is a global initiative that connects philanthropy with knowledge and networks that can deepen collaboration, leverage resources and sustain impact, driving SDG delivery within national development planning. It is led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), and supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ford Foundation, Oak Foundation, Brach Family Charitable Foundation, and many others.}