GEORGE NEWS - Eden District Municipality (EDM) pledged its commitment to the environment on 27 March when Executive Mayor Memory Booysen signed the Durban Commitment, joining leading local governments from around the world as a partner in the global movement to protect biodiversity.

The document was signed during a political leadership wetlands awareness workshop, which was sponsored by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (Iclei), as part of their Local Action for Biodiversity (Lab) Wetlands South Africa project.

The Durban Commitment is a non-binding commitment and model created by local governments, for local governments and the communities they serve, to protect and enhance local biodiversity. The workshop was attended by officials and political leaders from the district and focused on raising awareness of the value wetlands play in sustaining healthy communities and ecosystems.

Attendees learned that wetlands can purify water by filtering pollutants out of water systems. They are also essential in protecting communities from the impacts of natural disasters such as droughts and floods. They regulate the impact of flooding by acting as sponges and storing water. 

Releasing it slowly, they also help regulate the effects of drought. In this way, wetlands greatly reduce the severity of the impact of these natural disasters.

Wetlands are considered to be high-value 'ecological infrastructure', in that they provide critical ecosystem services within the areas where they occur. Poorer communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of wetland degradation. Many of the plants growing within and around wetlands have natural medicinal properties. Local communities harvest these plants to maintain or improve their personal health. 

Local communities in the Eden district commonly harvest reeds from wetlands to make baskets and furniture, grasses for thatching and arum lilies to sell on the side of the road.

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