Fish for Tomorrow: World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2007

The main aim of this years' World Wetlands Day is to draw attention to the vital role that healthy wetlands and river systems play in maintaining healthy populations of marine and freshwater fish and other aquatic food species.

The City of Cape Town's Environmental Resource Management Department will be celebrating Wetlands Day by running several interactive programmes from 29 Jan - 2 Feb with schools and communities at our wetland and estuary Nature Reserves to make people more aware of the value of and threats to our wetlands. We will also promote action by demonstrating practical ways in which communities and schools can help conserve and sustain these invaluable natural assets within the city.

Globally, more than a billion people are dependent on fish as their main source of protein, while the demand for seafood products has doubled over the past 40 years. It is therefore increasingly important to ensure the correct and sustainable management of our marine, coastal and inland habitats supporting aquatic food species.

It is estimated that 75% of the world's commercially important fish stocks are currently over-fished or being fished at their biological limits. South Africa does not escape these impacts with many of our inshore (along the coast) fisheries in an unhealthy condition at present. For the most part the fault lies simply with over-harvesting, but degradation of habitat is indisputably also a contributing factor.

Healthy aquatic communities depend on a suitable quality and quantity of water which in turn depends on healthy wetlands all the way from the mountains to the sea. World Wetlands Day commemorates the 1971 signing of the Convention on Wetlands, more popularly called the Ramsar Convention.

For more information please contact:

Lindie Buirski

Tel: 021 487 2839
Cell: 084 629 9305

All media are invited to attend.

Issued by:

Lisle Brown
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: 021 400 3065
Cell: 084 888 1901
Communication and Marketing
City of Cape Town

Tel: 021 400 2201
Fax: 021 957 0023

Media Queries:

Lindie Buirski
Environmental Education & Training Officer
City Of Cape Town
Tel: 021 487 2839
Cell: 084 629 9305

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07:30 Educators Entrain Cape Town Station for Salt River Station

08:20 Learners Entrain

08:20 - 8:30 Rail Safety Message (Edutrain Educators)

8:30 - 9:15 Introduction to the YES programme and World Wetlands Week introduction (Oscar & Sydney CCT)

9:30 - 9:45 Detrain at Steenberg Station

9:45 - 11:00 Zandvlei Presentation (Mark Arendse)

11:30 - 12:00 Break

12:00 - 12:30 Zandvlei programme continues

13:00 Entrain Steenberg Station

13:15 - 13:45 Evaluation

14:00 Learners Detrain

15:15 Educators Detrain at Cape Town Station

The schools that will be participating in the programme:

1. Wesbank Primary School
2. Hoofweg Primary School
3. Rainbow Primary Schoo
4. Silversands Primary School
5. Vergenoegt Primary School

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World Wetlands Week

29 January - 2 February 2007

09:00 - 09:10 Introduction to the YES programme and World Wetlands Week (RAMSAR) (Paul Arends)

09:10 - 09:20 Aids Awareness message (Maxwell Dingaan)

09:20 - 09:30 Introduction to Wetlands (Harry Ramblass)

09:30 - 09:50 Power Point Presentation one Water and Litter

10:00 - 10:15 Break

10:15 - 10:30 Walk from school to wetlands

10:30 - 11:30 Wetlands Activities (Max, Paul, Harry, Mapula - CCT & Lorraine Williams -CapeNature)

11:30 - 11:50 Evaluation (Lorraine with help from CCT Team)

11:50 - 12:00 Safety message (City Police)

12:00 - 12:30 Walk back to school

The schools that will be participating in the programme:

6. Wesbank Primary School
7. Hoofweg Primary School
8. Rainbow Primary School
9. Silversands Primary School
10. Vergenoegt Primary School

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29 January - 2 February 2007

Wetlands Week Programmes will be running on the following Nature Reserves:

1. Rietvlei Nature Reserve

2. Edith Stephens Nature Reserve

3. Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve

4. Rondevlei Nature Reserve

5. Uitkamp

For more details on these programmes please contact the following
numbers:

Rietvlei:
Tel: 021 554 0957/550 1086

Edith Stephens:
Tel: 021 691 8070

Zandvlei:
Tel: 021 701 7552

Rondevlei:
Tel: 021 706 2404

Uitkamp:
Tel: 021 913 5695