A Walk for the Wetlands to focus public attention on water management and environmental issues and the projected consequences of a weir at Wellington will be held at Milang on Friday February 2nd.
As, at this time, the future of Lakes Alexandrina and Albert and the Coorong hangs in the balance, this community and other communities around the world are preparing activities to mark World Wetlands Day on February 2nd.
The date marks the 37th anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Agreement in Iran in 1971, recognising the vital role of wetlands in the ecology and economy, with over 1200 wetland sites world-wide declared so far.
Australia was one of the first nations to become a Contracting Party to the Convention, which pursues the conservation and wise use' of wetlands. 2007 has been designated Wetlands and Fisheries' with the catch-cry Fish for tomorrow'.
For many people living around or near Australia's largest wetland, the Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert the largest Ramsar-listed site in the Southern Hemisphere - the timing couldn't be more ironic.
This year more than ever, locals are especially sensitive to the potential effects of wetland degradation with the South Australian Government considering a plan to block the ailing River Murray's flow at Wellington in an effort to shore up the state's dwindling water supply. That decision is expected in late February.
In the face of a record drought, the proposal of a weir at Wellington (which has been considered and discarded many times over past decades) has resurfaced and is suggested by the government as a last ditch measure.
A growing wave of opposition is sweeping not just up the river's banks and around the lakes' shores but across the whole state as the longer term consequences become better understood by all South Australians.
Many people will join the Walk for the Wetlands' on Lake Alexandrina's shores culminating in a midday picnic gathering at the Milang Wetland Reserve. Speakers there will describe the causes and effects of the weir, focusing on the fact that drought is a natural phenomenon but over-allocation of the Murray's limited resource is man-made.
People are encouraged to walk, run, cycle, ride a horse, sail or row a boat or simply drive beside the wetlands to Milang to join the Walk for the Wetland.
The rally comes hot on the heels of Australia's largest freshwater yacht race, the Milang to Goolwa'. Stop the Weir' promotional T-shirts, stickers and other items to raise public awareness will be available at both events. More information at www.stoptheweir.com.
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