ABSTRACT

This chapter examines Africa’s wetland environments and the often-contested nature of people–wetland relationships that exist around the continent. Through their provision of various ecosystem services, wetlands have played a key role in the development of people’s livelihoods since time immemorial, and yet in recent years the global discourse on wetlands has been dominated by two contrasting perspectives. The first is that wetlands and their critically important biodiversity continue to be threatened by exploitative human actions, and hence require urgent conservation. The second argues that wetlands are unproductive wastelands that require drainage and development in order to transform them into more productive environments. After outlining the evidence for wetlands’ importance around the continent, this chapter discusses the ways in which these different views have shaped wetland management and policy in Africa, and how there is an emerging consensus of the need to recognise wetlands as multifunctional socioecological systems, in which ecosystem services and livelihood benefits can be balanced and sustained.