In Tunis, lagoon for flamingos becomes dump for waste
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Sijoumi lagoon in Tunisia's capital Tunis plays a vital role not only in absorbing the overflow of water during heavy rain, but also as a breeding ground for migratory birds that gather there at the end of winter. But it became a waste dumping ground during decades of urbanisation.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SIJOUMI (Tunisia) • Hundreds of flamingos wade past waste in the murky waters of the vast Sijoumi lagoon, a critical wetland in the heart of Tunisia's capital threatened by overexpansion.
Once set apart from the city, today half of Tunis' residents live on the banks of the "sebkha", or mudflat, where more than 100,000 birds of around 100 different species spend winter.
The birds' human neighbours complain of pollution, recurrent flooding and swarms of mosquitoes from the lagoon, one of North Africa's most important wetlands that became a dumping ground during decades of urbanisation.
A government-led project that includes buildings, concrete embankments, and digging into the mudflat aims to control pollution and regenerate the habitat, but some environmental groups have pushed back against the initiative.
The lagoon plays a vital role not only in absorbing the overflow of water during heavy rain, but also as a breeding ground for the flocks of migratory birds that gather there at the end of winter.
But as rural populations flocked to Tunis, unauthorised building flourished in the former agricultural suburbs of the city and the lagoon became a dump for waste, mainly from construction.
More than 1.8 million cubic m of solid waste is estimated to have been disposed of in the lagoon since 2009, according to a study.
As a result the 2,600ha lagoon has been unable to absorb as much rainwater during downpours, leading to flooding that often closes businesses and schools.
Since 2015, the Tunisian authorities have been studying a project to clean up the lagoon and protect the area from flooding, while developing its economic potential through further construction.
Around 48 per cent of Tunis residents live around the lagoon, according to the latest census from 2014, and the surrounding neighbourhoods are densely populated, with some 2,800 people per sq km.
But most people avoid even the wild parts of the lagoon, with its olive trees and poppies at the water's edge, as the area is seen as dirty.
Industrial and domestic sewage spews into the lagoon and the battered wreckages of cars and trucks are piled up on the banks.
Ms Nadia Gouider, director of the government's Sijoumi lake project, said the development must be sustainable and aim to "save and support the lung of the capital".
But environmental activists are concerned about the project's potential impact.
Ms Imen Rais, an expert with environmental group WWF, warned of the negative impact of wetland decline in Tunisia, underlining its importance to minimise the "phenomena linked to climate change like floods, drought and storms".
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE