Urban Expansion Encroaching Into Wetlands

‘Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.’
By Paul Anu
Population pressure and a huge rural exodus witnessed in the last decade have constituted urban encroachment into most wetlands in Cameroon. 
The poor implementation of existing legislations by government and insufficient reinforcement of environmental norms by stakeholders could partly be blamed for the phenomenon. 
Many wetlands in and around urban dwellings have been transformed into settlement areas partly due the ignorance of the population, which badly needs education on the importance of wetlands for the sustainability of biodiversity. 
Wetlands are one of the world’s most important environmental assets, containing a disproportionately high number of plant and animal species compared to other areas of the world. Throughout history they have been integral to human survival and development.
Wetlands are important to fish and wildlife populations and roughly 96 percent of commercially important species of fish are wetlands dependent.
Also, about 80 percent of bird population relies on wetlands, according to studies. The population of the wood stork, for example, has dropped from 60,000 birds in the 1930's to around 10,000 by 1984. 
This drastic decline is attributed to the loss and degradation of wetlands; oceans and watersheds.
Some species of frogs, toads and salamanders depend exclusively on seasonal wetland areas as their only habitat. Seasonal wetlands are those areas that have standing water for relatively brief periods. They are temporary and often isolated, making them safe from predatory fish and other creatures, allowing the amphibians to thrive. 
Wetlands also are invaluable for a variety of water quality functions they naturally perform. These include, but are not limited, to the following: in certain instances, wetlands can remove from 70 to 90 percent of nitrates. Another study projects a twenty-fold increase in nitrogen loadings to streams as a result of a total conversion to adjacent bottomland hardwood forested wetlands to cropland; trapping sediments, which can keep large amounts of phosphorous from entering adjacent rivers, as well as preventing erosion and sedimentation. 
Wetlands can help buffer storm surges, a recent study by Corps of Engineers indicates. Flood water flows can be reduced by 80 percent in watersheds with wetlands as opposed to those without them. Meanwhile, much of the water in a wetland used for recharge would have been deposited there during wet periods, so the wetland would not only stem flooding by retaining water, but by having that water available to recharge groundwater. 
The pressure on wetlands is likely to intensify in the coming decades due to increased global demand for land and water, as well as climate change. Considering the importance of wetlands in supporting livelihoods, their preservation can therefore be said to be an urgent matter to be taken seriously and done in an integral manner; to get all involved in the crusade to protect and serve our wetlands. 
Many developed countries are spending billions today to try to rehabilitate their wetlands so Cameroon we should be proactive and mitigate the loss of her wetlands.