Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 20.2 Views of wetlands: past and present
Romney Marsh, England, in 1576 was depicted as:
'evil in winter, grievous in summer and never good'
and of the Fens, England, in 1629: 'The Air
nebulous, grosse and full of rotten harres; the water
putred and muddy, yea full of loathsome vermine;
the earth sprung, unfast and boggie' ( Source:
William Lambarde, archivist to Elizabeth I, as cited
by Purseglove 1988: p. 25).
A contemporary description of the Everglades, Florida,
USA included: 'aquatic flowers, of every variety and hue,
are to be seen on every side, in pleasant contrast with
the pale green of the sawgrass' ( Source: Smith 1847).
An account of the land use of grazing marsh wetlands at
Hatfield Chase, England, in the seventeenth century: The
region was based on an agricultural economy which
incorporated hunting and fishing. Furthermore the
agriculture was mainly pastoral…. The main livestock
included cattle, sheep and horses, in that order of
importance…. The peat fens were grazed and for each
village it was usual for such summer grazing to be
unstinted. Stock was often brought into the area from other
districts…. Many grasslands were flooded from November
to May and during this time alluvium (“natural warp”) was
deposited, improving fertility. In Epworth Manor the local
population was permitted to catch white fish on
Wednesdays and Fridays' (Source: Cory 1985: p. 35).
'These fish, called binni , were barbel…. Madan [a local
tribe] poisoned fish in the winter and in the spring before
the water in the Marshes began to rise. They used
datura which they bought from the local merchants and
mixed into pellets with flour and chicken droppings or
inserted into freshwater shrimps. The datura stupefied
the fish, which rose to the surface and were easily
collected.' —Local exploitation of the marshes of
southern Iraq (Source: Thesiger 1964: p. 91).
'The very existence of Dutch wetlands is at stake. The
sustainability of wetlands should therefore be the prime
ecological research priority' ( Source: Best et al . 1993: pp.
318-19).
'Wetlands are among the world's most important
environmental resources, yet remain some of the least
understood and most seriously abused assets…. A major
challenge to scientists, economists, decision-makers,
managers, users and the conservation community, is to
bridge the gap between socio-economics and ecology'
( Source: Maltby 1989: p. 46).
'Over the past ten years there has been a major
increase in concern for wetlands worldwide. Several aid
agencies now include wetland management among their
environmental priorities. The US Treasury has adopted
voting standards which instruct the US Executive
Directors to the multilateral banks, and the Administrator
of USAID, not to support projects which will destroy or
degrade wetlands' ( Source: Dugan 1994:p. 11).
'of its own right' with its attributes (Barbier et al.
1994). Wetlands have been likened to a sponge and
filter (functions), a larder or hardware store
(products) and an earthly paradise (attributes). Many
wetlands have a number of functions, yield more
than one product and can have a range of attributes,
hence even among those who recognise their value,
there can be competition between those exploiting
the different resources (Table 20.1).
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
Historical geographers have described how the
value of wetlands has been ignored and have
explained how consequently their conservation
has received low priority. It is now accepted that
wetland loss is a result of natural and man-made
causes. For example, natural causes include sealevel
rise, drought, hurricanes and other storms, erosion,
Table 20.1 A categorisation of the value of wetlands.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search