 |
JOHANNESBURG ZOO CELEBRATES WORLD
WETLANDS DAY.
Johannesburg, January 29, 2007
Wetlands day celebration will take place on the 2 February 2007.
The celebration marks the anniversary signing of the Convention
on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February
1971.
The Johannesburg Zoo celebrates this important day by
highlighting the role in preserving its wetlands. Our wetland
system filters impurities out of a water system biologically.
The Braamfontein Spruit flows through Johannesburg and 2
tributaries, one from the South and the other from the East meet
each other in Johannesburg Zoo. A huge amount of dirt and
pollution is present, to which the Zoo’s organic rich water is
added. This causes a problem when the water eventually reaches
Zoo Lake on the other side of Jan Smuts Avenue.
Johannesburg Zoo has played a major role in the cleansing of the
water before it flows into Zoo Lake and then further on. A
Wetland system was constructed that consists of a sieve tank to
collect large pollutants, a catchment tank for smaller
pollutants which sink to the bottom and is then pumped out to
the City sewer system, and water is then allowed to flow to the
3 wetland reed bed ponds. The reeds are planted in row formation
to maximize the natural biological filtration process. Water is
allowed to flow from one bed to another, through gravel layers
to further cleanse it.
Fish and bacteria have been released to feed off the nutrients
in the water. A large number of free-flying birds have settled
into the area and creates a fantastic display in the Zoo. The
beauty of this system is that it does certainly clean the water
to such an extent that it is fit for human consumption, it
attracts birds, insects and other wildlife, and the water
flowing into Zoo Lake has been cleaned from the accumulated
pollutants. The next project will be to redirect the flow of
some of the water back into the Zoo. We will save a considerable
amount of money with the implementation of this project.
Do make a point to visit our extensive bird collection, both
resident and free flying. We hosts a large number of water fowl,
cranes and storks – species that are sensitive to changes in
wetland systems.
Education information boards about our Wetlands are available in
the Zoo and at Zoo Lake. For more information or contact the
Lawrence on011- 646-2000.
|
<< Back
to more news
|
|
|
