 A natural sponge that absorbs and slowly releases surface and ground water, wetlands are purifiers and habitats for thousands of species, of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Wetlands were once thought of as wastelands, as many people believed they should be avoided. It was seen as a common practice to drain them, fill them, or treat them as dumping grounds. With the need to improve people's understanding of the extremely significant ecosystems, World Wetlands Day seeks to increase awareness of the critical importance of wetlands for both people and the environment. The annual celebration commemorates the Convention of Wetlands, also known as the Ramza Convention, which was adopted in 1971. The Mactay mangroves and Savins Bay in St. Lucia have been designated as wetlands of international importance. Mangroves, wetlands in general, they are a sanctuary for wildlife and so you would find that there are certain species of wildlife of fauna, flora that are directly associated with the mangrove and they derive their very survival from the mangrove. So basically some of our bird species, migratory birds, they come here seasonally and they depend on those wetland ecosystems to survive. Some wildlife use the mangrove for nesting during the breeding season, they use the mangrove for that purpose. Other wildlife use the mangrove for food supply, some wildlife depend on fish and they get it from those wetlands and so hence the great importance that our wetlands would play as it relates to our wildlife resource. In the past 50 years, wetlands around the world have degraded by almost 35%. Wetlands are lost three times more quickly than forests, despite their importance to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability and global economies. When a place becomes degraded, it means a lot of its value, natural value, fertility gets lost and it can be very difficult for some sort of regeneration to take place. So yes, our human activities, the same things that we depend on for survival, we have to do it in a sustainable way, in a managed way that we're not destroying that very resource and in the process destroying our livelihoods. Farming, doing charcoal production and the various ecosystems invading livelihoods that we have. I say invading, but it doesn't have to be invading, it can be done sustainably. But somebody needs to understand why it is important to conserve it, why it is flood mitigation, why it is a nursery for our fish, why in this era of climate change that we needed to ensure that our surroundings, our queen's chain is consumed and preserved and that is what the wetlands along the coast does, but that's not all the wetlands we have. We have internal wetlands. We have wetlands that are artificial and all these wetlands contribute to precipitation, contribute to livelihoods. And as a nation, this is the day that internationally everybody is looking at what wetlands we have and what can we do to preserve and conserve ours. Wetlands are increasingly recognised as productive and valuable resources, deserving of protection and restoration because they offer a wide range of recreational opportunities including fishing, hunting, photography and wildlife observation. You find a lot of people going indiscriminately in the mangrove areas, cutting the mangrove not in a sustainable way. So doing that, you find that it reduces animal life, bird life and the people who use it for livelihood. In some countries, people actually live within the wetlands like the mangrove and again it's the harvesting. Another thing that with wetlands, for example the mangrove, the river water passes through the wetlands. Now they are very sensitive. So if persons are washing their vehicle upriver, throwing all oil, chemicals and all of this in the waterway, you find that goes down into the mangrove and it will be killing most of our mangrove trees. In the open areas, in the savannas, you find persons actually take the cow and bring into the ponds for the cow to feed the water and this is creating a kind of hard core around so you don't find that kind of ill-filtration of water and so forth. So all of that is causing degradation to our wetlands. Using water from our homes could generate what are called waste water. Using water from kitchen sink and showers could generate what are called grey water and from the toilets could generate sewage, what are called black water. With typical insolution we use septic tank systems to treat the sewage. In some areas like Black Bay View Fort and Bossejo in the north, we have sewage systems which lead to treatment plants but in some cases unfortunately, well in many cases, the grey water which comes from the sinks, which comes from the showers and also from enterprises, some industrial enterprises, it goes into the drainage systems and ends up into the streams as grey water. Some of these, the grey water sometimes has chemicals which impact the mangroves. Wetlands not only shelter 40% of the world species but also give food, clean water and protection from flooding. While they are essential in the fight against climate change, it is increasingly clear that wetland dependent plants and animal species are in danger of going extinct. My concern is that we don't have 50 years. This is urgent. It's important. We have to do it now. Wetlands conservation needs to feature in our textbooks. It needs to show up in our plays. It needs to show up everywhere because we are in trouble. We are in danger. We are a rock surrounded by water and the only real preservation we have are these mangrove plants that are around the island, most of them have been destroyed. What we need now is for the island to understand how vulnerable we are. Our children need to know, our older people need to know. This nation needs to be called to action, to conserve wetlands, yes, but to restore the ones that we've lost. In St. Lucia, typically we guard our wetlands as a wasteland or as a dumping ground as an area of non-important. And hence the reason for persons involved in a lot of wetland degradation by means of pollution, solid waste disposal, liquid waste leaching and drainage into our wetlands. Also we find wetlands have a lot of pressure on them just by virtue of where they are located. Most of our wetlands, in fact the majority of our wetlands in St. Lucia are located along the coast, closer to the marine environment, closer to the mouth of rivers and so on. Because we have more or less marine wetlands, we have riverine wetlands and we also have tidal wetlands. And so most of these wetlands are situated along the coast. And as a result, they are very attractive for real estate, for development, for infrastructural development, for road construction, farming and so on. And hence the reason for the pressure that is placed on wetlands for its use. It is becoming crucial to acting support of wetlands preservation and restoration using financial, human and political resources. To slow down the rapid loss of wetlands and promote conservation and restoration efforts, we need to increase national and international awareness of wetlands degradation. First we have to look at education. Education, action and going the extra mile to get the wetlands going. In the communities which is surrounding the wetlands, the public meetings, you can go to the schools. The schools are very, another area that you can look at. You can, we as a department, we can put measures in place that certain things are not done. In areas are also some of the things that we can do to enhance the wetland areas. So for me today is a call to action for the entire year. Not just one year, but that it becomes a part of our conversations. It becomes part of our strategic plans. It becomes part of what we do next to ensure that wetlands is known. The wetlands in Senusha are known by every person. Just as we had when we thought our part was going to be extinct, we need to make this as important an issue as that. The nature of ecosystems is such that every organism impacts and relies on one another. In saving one plant or animal species, we protect the entire ecosystem. Wetlands in our wetlands will necessitate collaboration between private and public institutions with each of us playing our part individually and collectively. If we get it right, our wetlands and the inhabitants can thrive for the benefit of us all.