City Embarks On Clean-Up Campaign at Alexandra's Wetlands

Friday, 20 February 2009 09:50

In Alexandra, Johannesburg, there is a new campaign commencing along the Jukskei River, a continuation of the city’s efforts to care and protect the wetlands. This is part of the World Wetlands Day which is celebrated every year, around February time, to celebrate the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands.

The Jukskei River suffers during heavy rainfall and tends to burst its banks, this is a good reason to clean out the pollution and look after it as when working correctly the wetlands trap sand and dirt which makes the water much cleaner and stops soil erosion. This in turn should help the banks to stay stronger and reduce the likelihood of flooding.

Councillor Prema Naidoo said the campaign was an opportunity to inform and remind people how the wetlands benefit the surroundings.
"We are embarking on a clean-up campaign because we believe that healthy wetlands can slow the water and this will go a long way to ensure that our families and neighbours do not lose their houses or fall prey to floods," he said.

On Tuesday the wetlands were being cleaned up ready for World Wetlands Day by a group of people from the City’s Environmental Department and students of the Alexandra Skeem Primary School. Mr Naidoo stated the importance of the township looking after the wetlands and the positive effect they can have on the environment and the environment around them.

"It is important that the cleaning of these wetlands should not only be done once in a year. We urge you to educate your family members to refrain from damaging and littering in your wetland," he said.

The City's Environmental Management Executive Director, Flora Mokgohloa told BuaNews that together with her team, they wanted to make a lasting impact in altering social behaviour with regards to littering, water care and the greening of the residential areas.

"We want our people to realise that water is life, that there is no substitute for water. We want to encourage people to make use of a dumping site provided by the city and stop throwing waste materials in streams and rivers," she said.

"Upstream - Downstream", is the slogan for 2009, designed around the theme of wetlands and river basins and the role that wetlands play in surrounding environments.

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