To mark this year's World Wetlands Day, which falls annually on February 2nd, leaders of the Republic of Congo have designated four of the country's wetlands as protected Ramsar sites, including one that is the second largest in the world.
With the Congo's first protected wetland designated in 1998, this brings the Congo's total up to five Wetlands of International Importance. Worldwide there are over 1700 of these protected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
A Vast Protected Area
The Congo's largest new site, and the second largest in the world, is the Grands affluents, which covers 5.9 million hectares and encircles the country's original Ramsar site. The Grands affluents site lies in the watershed of the Congo River, which together with all its tributaries is the most important hydrological system in Central Africa. Four of the Congo River's tributaries run through the Grands affluents wetland.
The Congo River Watershed
Pink dot indicates location of Grands affluents watershed site, not to scale.
Source: WRI, 1998
In addition to rivers, the newly protected wetland contains lakes, marshes, and swampy forest. The critically endangered gorilla, one of seven critically endangered species in the Congo according to IUCN's Red List, has habitat in Grands affluents. The African elephant and hippopotamus, designated vulnerable species, have habitats there as well, along with a wide range of plants, birds, fish, and aquatic mammals. When dry, areas of the wetland are important refuges for elephants, buffaloes, and many migratory bird species.
Wetland Services
The importance of wetlands extends far beyond species protection to include many less obvious but essential human benefits. Wetlands help regulate local and global climate by acting as carbon sinks--though they cover only 8 to 10 percent of the world, they harbor 10 to 20 percent of global terrestrial carbon. Several types of wetlands serve as hydrological buffers. For instance, floodplain wetlands hold water that overflows river banks, reducing the damage of floods downstream. In addition, water that sits in wetlands seeps back into the ground, recharging regional groundwater. Other wetlands provide a mechanical buffer against storm damage by slowing the speed of water before it hits the shore. Roots of wetland plants hold the soil in place, countering shoreline erosion.
Finally, the powerful role of wetlands in water filtration has only recently been appreciated. As surface water runs through wetlands on its course to rivers, lakes, or ocean, wetlands retain excess nutrients and some pollutants. Reed beds and other wetland plants remove toxins from the water. Though this may seem a marginal benefit, in fact the Ramsar Convention estimates that disease caused by poorly managed wetlands is responsible for 3 million deaths per year.
Water filtration is an especially important service in the Congo, where infectious disease caused by waterborne viruses and bacteria is widespread. The result is that one of Central Africa's wettest countries has a severe lack of drinkable water. Though significant infrastructure improvements are needed, the function of wetlands in filtering the Congo's rivers is also vital, and their preservation is a step in the right direction.
Top photo by Richard Franco via Flickr
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Status of Ramsar Convention by country
