You don’t have to chain yourself to a tree to help protect the environment
Protect Our Wetlands.
You don’t have to chain yourself to a tree to help protect the environment this World Environment Day – play your part by signing and sharing a petition to save our local wetlands.
The Oupa Fats Wetlenz Team wants you to lend your voice to their call for the city to move Oupa Fats Wetlands under City Parks management so that it gets the proper protection and rehabilitation that it needs.
The area in question is situated between three of the largest townships in Johannesburg – namely Eldorado Park, Lenasia and Soweto.
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“Under the apartheid government, the area was allocated to National Housing with intention of property development; however, as this is a protected area, no invasive development is viable nor legal as per the RAMSAR convention. With the wetland sitting under the wrong management, it has led this beautiful natural wonder to deteriorate,” said Yoonus Mitha, chairperson of the group.
Without proper upkeep, the wetland has become a dumping ground and hub for illegal sand mining, illegal fishing with nets & it has become a hijacking hotspot.
Recently a group of inspired volunteers have taken up the cause and joined a decade-long battle to ensure that the wetland is returned to City Parks before it becomes a wasteland.
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They have achieved their goal of reigniting interest in the area as a recreational park, after a 20-year absence. Their remarkable efforts have resulted in the installation of a guard house, constant maintenance until City Parks takes its rightful ownership and duties – they are even building toilets.
“Dams have run dry before because of how illegal sand mining at this Wetland changes the flow of water and affects the basic ecological function of this Wetland and the entire Klipriver Eco System.
While the group has been actively collecting petitions on the ground, they are hoping to create awareness at a much larger scale by hosting it on Greenpeace Africa’s online petition platform Vuma.Earth.
“People feel like it is hard for them to get involved in protecting the environment because they feel that they can only do that by showing up at protests and clean-ups.
“But, while it would be amazing for people to commit to environmentalism at that level, taking a stand for the environment is as simple as signing and sharing a petition online,” said Angelo C Louw, who is the Digital Mobilisation Officer at Greenpeace Africa.
“It is important for African people to stand up against the abuse of the environment because it is our heritage at stake,” Louw said.
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