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1 People-centred wetland management
Adrian Wood, Alan Dixon and Matthew McCartney
Introduction
Wetlands have played a critical role in the livelihoods of people in Africa for millennia, not least because they have been sources of food and water for people living in often dry and semi-arid environments (Scoones, 1991). Indeed, much has been made in the literature of the last 30 years of the capacity of wetlands to provide a diverse range of functions and services that have supported people, ecological systems and the physical environment (Maltby, 1986; Dugan, 1990; Davis, 1994; Barbier et al, 1997; MA, 2005). Yet as explored throughout this book, the functional relationship between wetlands, people and livelihoods, and indeed the very survival of people, has tended to be neglected in the global hegemonic discourse of wetland management that has largely been driven by environmental concerns (Matthews, 1993; Melamed et al., 2012). While the effect of this discourse in Africa has been a growing awareness of the environmental importance of wetlands among policy-makers, a persistent view has developed that local people constitute the principal agents of wetland destruction; for example, the transformation of wetlands by drainage for subsistence agriculture has, and continues to be, regarded in many places as unacceptable (see Chapter 7). Consequently, as will be discussed later in this chapter, many wetland policy and management initiatives have sought to largely exclude potentially ādestructiveā farmers and pastoralists.
This book, however, argues that such policies are no longer acceptable or relevant in light of the challenges for human development and livelihood security facing Africa in the twenty-first century (FAO, 2011; UNDP, 2012a). Rather, it is argued here that peoplesā use of wetlands for multiple sustainable benefits, of an economic, social and environmental nature, must be the main focus (Howard et al., 2009). The majority of Africaās population (estimated to be around 1 billion) continue to live in rural areas where a life of smallholder subsistence agriculture, and a lack of access to basic needs, such as food and water, have entrenched many people in poverty (Binns et al., 2011). Despite some progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), recent statistics suggest that food insecurity and under-nourishment continue to rise and this will remain a major challenge not least because of population growth (FAO, 2006, 2011; UNDP, 2012b). It is estimated that 239 million people are undernourished in Sub-Saharan Africa (FAO, 2011) and around 340 million people across the continent (the majority of whom live in rural areas) continue to lack access to safe drinking water (UNICEF, 2006). Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and more recent scientific studies suggest that climate change across the continent is also likely to compromise food security and agricultural livelihoods due to changes in growing seasons, increased rainfall variability and water shortages (Boko et al., 2007; Lobell et al, 2008; Muller, 2009).
These are the issues that must be addressed, and as this book argues emphatically, wetlands have a critical role to play in supporting and developing peoplesā livelihoods, reducing poverty, improving food security and, in the wider context, contributing towards sustainable development. We do not advocate the indiscriminate exploitation of wetlands but rather a balanced approach that seeks to optimise benefits for poor rural populations and simultaneously safeguards vital ecosystem services (ESS). In this book, we present a number of case studies from around the continent which: a) illustrate the contribution that wetland benefits, especially agriculture, can make to peoplesā livelihoods and well-being, and b) incorporate ideas, concepts and initiatives that have sought to facilitate win-win outcomes in wetlands for both the environment and development. In this way, the book seeks to reconceptualise wetlands as natural resources within the discourse of sustainable development, and hence reposition the wider wetland management debate away from environmental management with development outcomes, to one of livelihood development based on the sustainable use of these resources which inherently ensures positive environmental outcomes. Consequently, the case studies draw, in particular, upon concepts and ideas that have emerged from the development and natural resource management (NRM) literature, such as community-based participatory approaches, common pool resources, social and ecological resilience, integrated water resource management and catchment planning, and critically the concept of a sustainable livelihood itself. These are applied primarily to small inland wetlands in different parts of the African continent where small-scale agriculture is a major contributor to rural livelihoods.
In this chapter we provide an overview of the wetlands discourse of the last 60 years, as well as identifying other areas of thinking that can contribute to taking this discussion forward. The nature of wetlands and the ESS they provide, especially as contributions to African livelihoods, are reviewed in the first part of the chapter. The wetland discourse and the relevant thinking from the development agenda are reviewed in the next two sections, exploring how different schools of thought and concepts have contributed to the thinking on wetlands, and can inform current wetland debates. The chapter concludes with a focus on recent thinking about wetlands and proposes a framework for a āpeople-centred approach for analysing the management of small inland wetlands in Africaā. The aim of this wide-ranging introduction is to ensure readers of different experience and interests are introduced to the diverse thinking and ideas that have been, and could be, relevant to ensuring that wetland management contributes to sustainable livelihood development in Africa.
Wetlands and ESS
Wetlands are diverse environments, both spatially and temporally, and also in terms of their physical size, ecology, hydrology and geomorphology. Whilst a myriad of literature presents and debates the definition and characterization of wetlands in different environments, along with their associated functions (Dugan, 1990; Roggeri, 1995; MA, 2005; Maltby and Barker, 2009), the most widely accepted scientific definition for conservation and planning purposes continues to be that established by the Ramsar Convention in 1971. This definition embraces the diversity of wetlands by grouping together a wide variety of landscape units whose ecosystems share the fundamental characteristic of being strongly influenced by water:
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.
(Davis, 1994: 3)
Subsequently the Ramsar Bureau developed a classification of 42 distinct wetland types (Davis, 1994) although it later simplified these into five broad categories:
ā¢ marine (coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores and coral reefs);
ā¢ estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes and mangrove swamps);
ā¢ lacustrine (wetlands associated with lakes);
ā¢ riverine (wetlands along rivers and streams);
ā¢ palustrine (meaning āmarshyā ā marshes, swamps and bogs).
(Ramsar, 2009)
All of these types of wetland are found throughout Africa, and estimates suggest that they constitute somewhere between 1 per cent and 16 per cent of the total land area of African countries depending upon whether the larger lakes are included within this classification (Hughes, 1996; Schuyt, 2005; Rebelo et al., 2010). This is likely to be an underestimate, however, since the data on wetlands is far from comprehensive due to inconsistencies in the wetland terminology used, the neglect of small seasonal wetlands and the logistical constraints of carrying out surveys (Denny, 2001).
The occurrence of wetlands (Figure 1.1) reflects the variation in climate and geomorphology, and Denny (1993) identifies two broad physiographic units: ālow Africaā, situated to the north and west, which is composed of sedimentary basins and upland plains below 600 m and favours the formation of floodplain wetlands; in contrast, āhigh Africaā to the south and east, which can be characterised by the results of tectonic activity, includes extensive mountainous areas, deep valleys and highland plateaux. Within the latter, lakes and swamps tend to be the more abundant wetland features.
Much has been written about the value and functions of wetlands (Dugan, 1990; Barbier, 1993; Roggeri, 1995; MA, 2005; Maltby, 2009; Maltby and Barker, 2009), and as greater understanding has emerged of the role wetlands play in ecological and hydrological cycles, there has been a concurrent
Figure 1.1 Distribution of wetlands in Africa
Source: adapted from MA, 2005
shift in attitudes away from wetlands being viewed as unproductive wastelands, to one of wetlands as multifunctional resources (Figure 1.2).
The multifunctional nature of wetlands has most recently been conceptualised in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessmentās (MA) classification of āwetland ecosystem servicesā which stresses how they contribute to human well-being and poverty alleviation (MA, 2005: 1). The range of ESS that wetlands can provide, either in their natural state or when partially transformed, are highlighted in Table 1.1. Many ESS, especially provisioning ones, have direct economic value to people, while regulating and support services in general help maintain environmental functions that are of benefit to communities. Wetlands also provide ESS which have other, cultural, values for communities, especially with respect to spiritual, recreational and aesthetic interests. In addition, wetlands have biodiversity values that have been a key element in the discourse about the management of these areas. Different societies under different socio-economic, cultural and development conditions value these ESS differently and this adds to the diversity that needs to be recognized when discussing wetlands.
The MA also makes it clear that not all wetlands support the full range of ESS. Specific services are associated with particular types of wetland in specific ecological and geographical settings as well as the ecological condition of the wetland. Because of the complexity of natural systems it is often difficult to predict the exact nature and the magnitude of services that any given wetland provides. With respect to hydrological regulating services, research has shown that these wetland services are not as widespread as once thought (Bullock and Acreman, 2003).
Figure 1.2 Multifunctional seasonal wetland use in central Malawi
Source: Adrian Wood
Table 1.1 Ecosystem services provided by, or derived from, wetlands | Services | Comments and examples |
| Provisioning | |
| Food | Production of fish, wild game, fruits and grains |
| Freshwater | Storage and retention of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use |
| Fibre and fuel | Production of ... |
