Abstract
Wetlands are a form of natural capital which provide services that improve the welbeing of the local community. Unfortunately many wetlands have been degraded before their values and functions were realised. Using a system thing appraoach and a mixed research method, this article collected primary data from 176 respondents using questionnaires. Besides, 21 wetlands were observed using field observation data sheet while interviews were conducted with 31 environmental, disaster and climate change experts. Lastly secondary data were obtained from the South Africa Weather Service on two climate parameters. All these data were used to investigate the vulnerability and functions of wetlands as a natural capital and how to build wetland resilience in the eastern Free State of South Africa. The main findings were that wetlands especially those in communal land were still very vulnerable partly due to ignorance of wetland values and functions. The dominant function of the wetlands in the study area was agriculture (both crop production and grazing). These wetlands also perform other functions that support the welbeing and safety of the local community. Despites these valuable functions, wetland degradation is still going on and the management is still predominantly reactive. The main recommendation therefore was a proposed integrated management framework that build wetland resilience to the changing environment characterised by increasing extreme weather events and disaster risks exacerbated by negative impacts of climate change.
Highlights
Building community and system resilience is a new paradigm shift and focus area in international discussions on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable development (Renaud et al, 2016)
To promote the quality of wetlands as a natural capital, this paper proposes a framework for building wetland resilience to external stressors in the study area
This paper examines wetlands as a form of natural capital and proposes a framework for holistic wetland management that would improve wetlands resilience
Summary
Building community and system resilience is a new paradigm shift and focus area in international discussions on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable development (Renaud et al, 2016). The concept and application of resilience found much resonance in many international conferences recently This was the case of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March 2015 in Sendai; Japan. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 highlighted the need for resilient-prone development projects and programmes using natural ecosystems (UNDP, 2015). All these global platforms emphasized the need for ecosystem-based approach in building systems and community resilience.
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