-TUNJI BELLO
Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello has disclosed that over 51% of wetlands area including mangrove swamps along the coast and freshwater swamps in the state had been encroached upon indiscriminately due to urbanization.
Bello stated this at the 2014 World Wetlands Day held recently at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja with the theme: “Wetlands and Agriculture: Partners for Growth”.
He emphasised that most of the wetlands in the State had been severely bastardized as a result of anthropogenic activities thus the need to sensitize Lagosians on the importance of Wetlands to the survival of human being with a view to returning it to its natural state.
Bello described Wetland as an area that provided valuable services to satisfy economic, social and ecological needs of local, national and international communities, adding that wetlands also played important role in flood assimilation as well as source of food, medicine, fuel and building materials to people living around them.
He noted that the topography of Lagos State haboured about 78% water bodies of various sizes such as Ocean, lagoon, lakes, streams, wetlands among others.
He explained that the explosion of the State population vis-à-vis limited land size and the demand for housing and industrial development had placed the wetlands in Lagos State on the verge of extinction.
The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment is corroborated by a study carried out by the Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC) in partnership with the Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) on Lagos State Climate Change Adaptation Strategy stated that in 1965, “wetlands covered about 53 per cent of Lagos State, but as at 2003, this has been reduced to 2 per cent with great loss of biodiversity”.
He stated that Agriculture (fishing and cultivation of crops) had the highest land use with 55.9% occupancy, followed by residential with 31.2%, recreation 3.9%, transportation 2.6%, herb collection 2.6%, worship 2.6% and 1.3% for others (sand mining and trading).
Bello hinted that wetlands were crucial to agriculture as it had become more evident that there was need to encourage the agricultural sector to embrace responsible agricultural practices which would further boost and support wetlands.
He mentioned some of the functions of wetlands to include the support of cultivation of rice; provision of a range of ecosystem services that benefit humanity, including water filtration, storm protection, flood control and recreation among others
“The preservation of wetlands is a compulsory option for life and living. If we continue to destroy it, we compromise our future and endanger posterity. If our forefathers had preserved it for us, we also have the sacred responsibility of conserving it for unborn children”, he said.
Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, a Professor of Botany and Director of Academic Planning, University of Lagos, Akoka in his lecture on Wetlands Day described the relationship between wetlands and agriculture as resourceful and healthy.
He posited that there should be strategic plan for bio-diversity management so as to achieve the partnership of wetlands and agriculture, stressing that the State Government should put in place a policy that would protect wetlands in the state.
Some of the wetlands still noticeable around the state includes; Majidun, Ipakodo, Owode, Ise, Ibeju-Lekki, Iba, Abia, Iworo-Ajido, Morogbo, Ajido, Isheri-Olofin among others.
Ramsar convention on wetlands (1971) defines wetland as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”.
It will be recalled that the World wetlands day is celebrated each year since 1977 to commemorate the date of adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2nd February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
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