A new scientific assessment by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has found that while some of the city’s wetlands remain in good ecological condition, several are showing signs of degradation as urban development and vegetation loss take their toll.
The findings are contained in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) report presented by the director of Water and Sanitation, who said the assessment provides a baseline for future monitoring and conservation of Bulawayo’s wetlands.
Using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, Dynamic World land-cover data, vegetation and water indices, ecosystem condition indicators and ground-truthing exercises, council assessed the health of wetlands across the city.
“The integrated Wetland Health Index suggested that a proportion of Bulawayo’s wetlands remained in fair to good ecological condition such as Centenary Park, while several wetlands showed signs of moderate degradation associated with urban development pressures and reduced vegetation cover,” the report says.
It noted that wetlands located in relatively undisturbed landscapes recorded the highest ecological integrity.
The report recommendedthat conservation efforts be directed towards protecting the healthiest wetlands while restoring those under the greatest pressure.
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“Priority conservation efforts should focus on wetlands exhibiting high ecological condition and ecosystem service value,” the report said.
It added: “Restoration programmes should target wetlands with high vulnerability scores through improved protection, rehabilitation of degraded vegetation, control of encroachment and enhanced monitoring.”
Council said the study established an important benchmark for future environmental management.
“The assessment provided a baseline for future wetland monitoring and supports evidence-based planning for a sustainable urban environment,” the report read.
The assessment comes as concerns continue to mount over the protection of wetlands in urban areas, which are increasingly coming under pressure from residential developments, cultivation, dumping and other forms of encroachment.
Wetlands play a critical role in groundwater recharge, flood attenuation, water purification and supporting biodiversity, making their protection central to sustainable urban planning.
Meanwhile, the council is also pushing to modernise the way it manages spatial information through a web-based Geographic Information System.
The report said the municipality aims to have all departments operating on an integrated web-based geospatial platform by 2030, replacing the desktop-based GIS currently in use.
“It was expected that by the year 2030, the City of Bulawayo would be operating on a web-based geospatial system that would encompass all departmental activities,” the report said.
According to the report, geo-databases have already been created for every council department to enable the storage and management of spatial data on a single platform.