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Nature

sIlVer jubIlee For ‘WastelanD’

BY JAMES CLARKE, PICTuRES BY MARY BROADLEY

The United Nations Environmental

Programme (Unep) is celebrating its
25-year-old international campaign

to encourage efforts to preserve

the wetlands between the Cape

and the Arctic. It views the wetlands

as essential to the health of the

environment and the survival of

wildlife - especially the millions of
migratory birds that use them as

staging posts.
Flamingos rely on the chain of wetlands stretching from eastern
Africa down to the Cape.

wenty-five years ago several national governments The treaty, known as Aewa – the African-Eurasian Migratory
throughout Africa, Europe and the Russian Federation Waterbird Agreement – is dedicated to safeguarding the
Tsigned an agreement to safeguard wetlands ranging stopping-off places along the migration routes. Eighty
from the Arctic Circle to South Africa. The main motive? To nations are now pledged to protect these wetlands.
ensure migrating water birds have somewhere to land on Tens of millions of migrating geese, grebes, pelicans,
their hazardous journeys as they fly down to Africa – and then, cormorants, spoonbills, ibises, herons, cranes, storks, gulls,
roughly six months later, fly back. terns and other species – 255 species in all – have their
Some fly, with their offspring, 15 000 kilometres from their favoured routes. Some end in the Middle East, many go all
breeding grounds to summer in Southern Africa. The spectrum the way to the Cape.
of the countries whose governments signed the agreement The chain of wetlands – estuaries, lakes and marshes – are
range from the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere to the birds’ resting places where some species congregate
Cape Agulhas. The birds’ various routes form what is called the in their tens of thousands to spend days refuelling before
African-Eurasian Flyway. continuing their flights. The geographical range covered by

14 • Issue 9 2020 • The Villager