Essay: Importance and protection of wetlands

INTRODUCTION

Nature consists of indispensable complex network of interconnected systems, i.e. the ecosystems that are unquestionably necessary for the survival of all the living beings as they provide us with various services such as clean drinking water, food (cereals, fruits, vegetables and spices), raw materials like timber, fuel wood, organic matter and fodder, medicinal resources, decomposition of wastes and detoxification, nutrient recycling, soil formation, carbon sequestration, climate regulation and certainly the non material benefits including cultural, spiritual and recreational escapade.

Wetlands are one of the most productive and profitable ecosystems that provide a vital range of services. From filtered water to food; they also offer unique abode for many different species and a haunt for the migratory birds during the favorable seasons. They subsist in every country and occur in diverse climatic zones, ranging from the Polar Regions to the Tropical and Temperate regions (except Antarctica) as well as at high and low altitudes.

Wetland ecosystems are impuissant against the growing needs of humans who over-exploit these wetlands due to their abundance of fish, fuel and water and thus, the rate of depletion and retrogression of wetlands is accelerating at an alarming rate in all the regions of the world. The pressure on these valuable wetlands is likely to escalate in the coming decades due to the increasing global demand for food, land and water. So, wetlands are on the “front-line” (Wetlands International) as the urbanization, developmental and grazing pressure is increasing.
The Ramsar Convention (the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) broadly aims at recognition of a wide variety of natural and human made ecosystems ranging from rivers to coral reefs and salt marshes to swamps, etc. that can be classified as a wetland and are under immediate threat of degradation and are highly vulnerable. The Ramsar Convention motivates the designation of sites containing unique, rare, endangered or vulnerable species of organism in the wetlands that are supreme for conserving the biological diversity. India joined the convention in October 1981.

India is known for its rich diversity in both flora and fauna, as well as the kind of ecosystems it supports. The total percentage of area in India that is covered by water bodies is around 9.6% which is an above average value in the world and the wetlands cover a total geographical area of about 4.7% (National Wetland Atlas) which is a lion share among all the water bodies present. India has about 757,000 wetlands with a total area of around 15 million hectares. Inland wetlands cover 69%, coastal wetlands 27%, and other wetlands 4% of this 4.7% share. But, till date only 26 wetlands covering 689,131ha have been identified as a RAMSAR SITE (as opposed to a much smaller country like UK which has recognized 169 Ramsar sites) while other wetlands have still not attained any legal status and are under continuous threat of extinction.
Talking about the present scenario, people of India are still facing water crisis. In 2006, the water usage was around 829 billion cubic meters (Nina Brooks) and as the population is growing the demands for resources are also rising and by 2050, it is estimated that the demand would nearly double and reach trillion cubic meters. Thus, it is necessary to identify and locate important sites and wetlands to preserve them for us and our future generations.

The problems here mainly revolve around the political sectors. Recently, in the month of February 2016, during the reservation protests in Haryana, Delhi was hit with huge water crisis, as the Munak canal was vandalized and the water treatment canal of Dwarka could not function because of absence of raw water. Such human conflicts, political integration, unplanned developmental activities, pollution, increased tourism, unsustainable use of natural resources, etc are the main pillars leading to diminution of earth’s valuable ecosystems.
Halting of these country and worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve them, through their wise use and sustainable management, those that remain is what this Ramsar convention intends to do. This requires international cooperation between different nations, policy making programs, capacity building and technology exchange.

What are wetlands?

Wetland is defined as a land area that is covered or sodden with water, either temporarily (seasonally) or permanently, and forms a distinct ecosystem of its own. It forms an ecotone between land and water and is usually distinguished from other land or water bodies by the kind of vegetation of aquatic plants that have the ability to grow in its highly water saturated soil. Wetlands can be contemplated as “biological supermarkets” (EPA) that play a number of roles in the ecological sustenance, and are often involved in water purification, carbon sink, and flood control and shoreline stability. These form one of the most important environmental assets as they are the sites of biodiversity hotspots for many plant and animal species and are home to a great variety of flora and fauna including the migratory birds especially waterfowls. Wetlands can be classified into four types based on their functions and roles in wetland hydrology, namely: bogs, fens, marshes and swamps, each having a distinct characteristic of its own.

1. Bogs

Are typified by the presence of acidic waters, spongy peat deposits, and floor covered by a thick and luxurious carpet of sphagnum moss and receive most of the water from precipitation. Bogs are therefore very low in nutrients that are required for the plant growth sustenance, a condition that is intensified by acid forming peat mosses. Functions: Bogs play an important role in the prevention of downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation and provide a suitable habitat to animals threatened by human encroachment.

2. Fens

Are peat-forming wetlands that receive most of the nutrients from upslope sources which includes drainage from groundwater sources and mineral soils, excluding the precipitation. Fens have much higher nutrient level and are less acidic than bogs and thus are able to support a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Functions: Fens are extremely important for a watershed as they prevent the risk of floods, improve the water quality and also provide a unique habitat for a wide range of plant and animal species.

3. Marshes

Are wetlands that are frequently drenched with water and embraces soft-stemmed vegetation adapted to temporarily or permanently inundated soil conditions. Example: prairies and everglades. Functions: ground water recharging, flood control and water filtration.

4. Swamp

Are the wetlands which are dominated by woody plants. They are typified by inundated soils during the growing season and standing water state during certain seasons. Swamps are characterized by the presence of highly organic soils that form a thick, black, and nutrient-rich environment. These factors are favorable for the growth of water-tolerant tree species. Example: Cypress (Taxodium spp.). Functions: flood protection and nutrient removal, flood deposits form highly fertile- rich alluvial soil, food source and high quality timber production.

Threats to wetlands

It’s recently been reported that around one third of the total wetlands in India are vanishing and degrading at an excruciating rate that has set alarming bells ringing amongst the ecologists and conservationists. Thus, the threats must be identified and operative and feasible methods should be opted to halt these practices that are relentlessly causing destruction of these valuable wetlands.

Threats to wetlands include:

1. Invasive species

Any non-native or alien species that invades a particular area and hinders the growth of the local flora and fauna can cause imbalance of an ecosystem. It also leads to loss of original biodiversity. Example: Introduction of exotic species like water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) at East Kolkata wetland and other areas have threatened these wetlands and clogged their waterways.

2. Pollution

Industrial effluents, surface run off of fertilizers and pesticides particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, dumping of garbage and other toxins like mercury into the water body can cause some severe health problems to various species and affect the biological diversity. Example: Superfund (CERCLA) or RCRA sites: Abandoned waste products such as radioactive substances, heavy metals, toxic or acidic compounds at Superfund sites pose an ecological risk to wetlands. A clean-up activity at these hazardous sites degrades the wetlands through influx of contaminants and their interference in hydrology.

3. Dams

Dams are built worldwide to act as a barrier to restrict the natural flow of the water body, forming a reservoir that generates water supply or electricity. This restricts the natural flow of aqua bodies and affects the aquatic life. And thus building of dams is highly debatable and WWF implements that the construction should be as sustainable as plausible to minimize its effect on the biotic and abiotic components.

4. Climate change

Climate change is taking its toll on the environment and of course on the ecosystems. Increase in the temperature is causing the polar ice to melt and sea levels to rise. This in turn has lead to formation of shallow wetlands that are swamped and causing tree species of mangroves to submerge.

5. Overgrazing

Overgrazing harms the wetlands by causing soil compaction, destabilization of stream bank and uprooting of vegetation.

6. Agricultural conversion

In India, due to rice culture, a lot of loss in the spatial distribution of wetlands can be observed. Rice farming is mainly done in a wetland type area which consists of saturated water in the fields. For irrigation purposes the groundwater or downstream natural wetlands are continuously deprived of water.

7. Industrial threats

The water from the aquifers that is procured is far more than its natural ability to replenish it, resulting in death of trees and plants which are deprived of such life sustaining supplies. Agricultural and paper making industries use water injudiciously and are often wasteful. Storm water and waste water effluent from industries are common sources of pollutants that degrade the wetlands by AGING them (saturation by filtration of organic compounds).

8. Direct deforestation (Devegetation) and growing shrimp farms in wetlands

Shrimp farms cause excessive withdrawal of freshwater from ponds (in wetlands) and increased pollution load on aqua body (increased organic waste content, pesticides, chemicals, lime and disease causing organisms).

9. Hydrological alteration

Changes in hydrology are marked by surface land elevation or increased removal of water from wetlands such that it no longer floods. Water drained through canals from the wetlands led to an initial increase in crop productivity but reduced fertility and salt accumulations in soil.

10. Alteration of upper watersheds

A watershed is a land area that separates water flowing to different basins, rivers or seas. Deforestation and overgrazing reduces the water holding capacity of the soil, and the soil erosion becomes more pronounced. The physical characters of the land where precipitation falls, collects and then runs off into the soil will determine the hydrological regime of the wetlands present downstream.

11. Ground water depletion

As the amount of water drained is far more than the natural ability of the aquifers to replace or recharge it.

12. Tourism and construction of road right up to the wetland

Construction of roads and railroads right up to the water body of the wetland narrows down the floodplain of the river and stream channels. Building of roads increases the amount of impervious surface which prevents the rainfall from percolating in the soil, hinders in ground water recharging, changes hydrology, disrupts the water channels, increases the chances of erosion and reduce the water filtration capacity.

13. Mining

Mining has greatly impacted the wetlands especially along the upper river where mine wastes accumulates in the floodplains. Example: peat and phosphate mining.

14. Habitat loss and fragmentation

Subsidence of land leads to saltwater intrusion into the freshwater and causes a shift in the plant and animal community. Habitat fragmentation of wetlands alters the species composition and causes loss of a wide variety of flora and fauna and may increase the number of predator, parasite and competitor species tolerant of the disturbed habitats.

15. Urbanization

The major pollutants associated with urbanization are road salts, sediments and nutrients, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, bacteria, and viruses. These pollutants enter wetlands from point or non-point sources.

16. Sanitary landfills

Leachates from household and industrial wastes often have high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and constitute toxic compounds such as ammonium, manganese, etc. at high concentrations that are hazardous for plant and animal sustenance.

17. Marinas/Boats

Pollutants such as hydrocarbons, heavy metals and toxic chemicals from paints and cleaners released from boats and marinas adversely affect the wetlands. Boating increases the turbidity and degradation of wetland water bodies. Discharge of human wastes directly into the water and dumping of fish wastes increases the organic content in the water leading to Eutrophication.

18. Atmospheric Deposition (dry and wet depositions)

Sulfurous and nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, volatile pesticides and other organic and inorganic compounds released into the atmosphere by automobiles, industries and agricultural farms degrade wetlands through dry and wet depositions and also adversely affect the health of aquatic and terrestrial organisms.

What are Ramsar sites?

Ramsar sites are the wetlands acknowledged internationally that are registered under the Ramsar Convention guidelines, which necessitates the conservation and protection of their aboriginal ecological character through their “wise use”. The definition of Ramsar wetlands is fairly broad and includes both manmade and natural ecosystems such as paddy fields, fishery ponds, salt pans, marshes and swamps, areas of salt or marine water, the depth of which should not exceed 6 meters at low tides.

Need for Ramsar convention

The Ramsar Convention is first and one of a kind intergovernmental and an international treaty signed between different nations for the identification, conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands under threat and recognizes their ecological, elemental, cultural, scientific, economic, and recreational value. Convention is named after the city of Ramsar (a small Iranian town), where the Convention was first signed and drafted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran, on 2 February 1971, which was hosted by the Iranian Department of Environment, and came in effect on 21 December 1975. Since then, the convention is known is Ramsar convention and the wetlands identified and listed under threat came to be known as Ramsar sites. The convention comprises of a scientific review panel, standing committee, and a secretariat. Headquarters are located in Gland, Switzerland, shared with the IUCN. The first Conference of the Contracting parties (COP) was held at Cagliari, Italy in 1980.

Its mission is to conserve and prevent the irrational use of wetlands through combined efforts of the locals, national plans (and actions) and international co operation to achieve sustainable development of these undervalued ecosystems.

The “three pillars” of the Convention to which the Contracting Parties commit to are as follows:

1. Wise, sustainable and logical use of their wetlands;
2. Designate threatened wetlands as a Ramsar site and include in the list of Wetlands of International Importance and ensure their conservation and management;
3. International co operation between nations on transboundary and shared wetlands and the migratory species.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 February which marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands and it was first celebrated on February 2, 1997 on its 16th anniversary completion of the Ramsar Convention.

Working of Ramsar Convention

COP is held every 3 years to promote the policies and guidelines for the implementation of the Convention. Standing Committee representing the 6 Ramsar regions of the world meets annually to guide the convention. The Scientific Review Panel provides guidance for key issues for the convention. Ramsar Secretariat governs day to day activities of the convention. Each contracting party, at its national level designates an administrative authority for implementation of the Convention. Eligible countries can ask for financial support from Ramsar Small Grants Fund and Wetlands for the Future Fund for their wetland conservation, assistance and “wise use” once they are listed in Montreux Record.

FACT FILE: AT A GLOBAL LEVEL

• Standing Committee represents these 6 Ramsar regions of the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Oceania.
• Total number of Contracting Parties under Ramsar convention:169
• Total number of Ramsar Sites identified: 2,231
• Total area of all the Ramsar sites: 214,936,005 ha

First few countries to become the Contracting Parties under Ramsar convention:

ENTRY DATE: 21 December 1975 (Iran, South Africa, Australia, Greece, Finland, Sweden and Norway)

New additions of Contracting Parties under Ramsar convention:

ENTRY DATE: 5 September 2015 (Kuwait)
ENTRY DATE: 10 October 2013 (South Sudan)

Countries with maximum number of wetlands

United Kingdom: 170
Mexico: 142

Countries with minimum number of wetlands

Kuwait, South Sudan, Oman, Grenada, Yemen, Barbados, Fiji, Cyprus, Monaco, Bahamas and Jordan.
(These countries have listed only 1 country as a Ramsar site till now)

Countries with maximum area of wetlands

Bolivia: 14,842,405 ha (11 wetlands)
Congo: 13,758,740.91 ha (13 wetlands)
Canada: 13,086,771 ha (37 wetlands)

Countries with minimum area of wetlands

Malta: 16 ha (2 wetlands)
Monaco: 23 ha (1 wetland)

Ramsar sites in India

Total Ramsar sites in India: 26

NORTHERN WETLANDS OF INDIA

S.NO. WETLAND PLACE ENTRY DATE AREA COORDINATES

1. Chandertal Wetland Himachal Pradesh 08/11/05 49 ha 32°29’N 077°36’E

2. Harike Wetland

Punjab 23/03/90 4,100 ha 31º13’N 075º12’E

3. Hokera Wetland

Jammu and Kashmir 08/11/05 1,375 ha 34°05’N 074°42’E

4. Kanjli Wetland

Punjab 22/01/02 183 ha 31°25’N 075°22’E

5. Pong Dam Lake

Himachal Pradesh 19/08/02 15,662 ha 32°01’N 076°05’E

6. Renuka Wetland

Himachal Pradesh 08/11/05 20 ha 31°37’N 077°27’E

7. Ropar

Punjab 22/01/02 1,365 ha 31°01’N 076°30’E

8. Surinsar-Mansar Lakes

Jammu and Kashmir 08/11/05 350 ha 32°45’N 075°12’E

9. Tsomoriri

Jammu and Kashmir 19/08/02 12,000 ha 32°54’N 078°18’E

10. Upper Ganga River

Uttar Pradesh 08/11/05 26,590 ha 28°33’N 078°12’E

11. Wular Lake

Jammu and Kashmir 23/03/90 18,900 ha 34º16’N 074º33’E

SOUTHERN WETLANDS OF INDIA

S.NO. WETLAND PLACE ENTRY DATE AREA COORDINATES
1. Ashtamudi Wetland

Kerala 19/08/02 61,400 ha 08°57’N 076°35’E

2. Kolleru Lake

Andhra Pradesh 19/08/02 90,100 ha 16°37’N 081°12’E

3. Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary

Tamil Nadu 19/08/02 38,500 ha 10°19’N 079°38’E

4. Sasthamkotta Lake

Kerala 19/08/02 373 ha 09°02’N 076°37’E

5. Vembanad-Kol Wetland

Kerala 19/08/02 151,250 ha 09°50’N 076°45’E

EASTERN WETLANDS OF INDIA

S.NO. WETLAND PLACE ENTRY DATE AREA COORDINATES

1. Bhitarkanika Mangroves

Orissa 19/08/02 65,000 ha 20°39’N 086°54’E

2. Chilika Lake

Orissa 01/10/81 116,500 ha 19º42’N 085º21’E

3. Deepor Beel

Assam 19/08/02 4,000 ha 26°08’N 091°39’E

4. East Calcutta Wetlands

West Bengal 19/08/02 12,500 ha 22°27’N 088°27’E

5. Loktak Lake

Manipur 23/03/90 26,600 ha 24º26’N 093º49’E

6. Rudrasagar Lake

Tripura 08/11/05 240 ha 23°29’N 090°01’E

WESTERN WETLANDS OF INDIA

S.NO. WETLAND PLACE ENTRY DATE AREA COORDINATES

1. Keoladeo National Park

Rajasthan 01/10/81 2,873 ha 27º13’N 077º32’E

2. Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary

Gujarat 24/09/12 12,000 ha 22°46’33”N 072°02’21”E

3. Sambhar Lake

Rajasthan 23/03/90 24,000 ha 27º00’N 075º00’E

CENTRAL WETLAND OF INDIA

S.NO. WETLAND PLACE ENTRY DATE AREA COORDINATES

1. Bhoj Wetland

Madhya Pradesh 19/08/02 3,201 ha 23°14’N 077°20’E

FACT FILE: INDIA

• First few wetlands to get designated as a Ramsar site: Chilika Lake (Orissa): 1st October 1981 and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan): 1 October 1981.
• Recent wetlands to get designated as a Ramsar site: Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary (Gujarat): 24 September 2012; Chandertal wetland (Himachal Pradesh): 8 November 2005; Hokera Wetland (Jammu and Kashmir): 8 November 2005; Renuka Wetland (Himachal Pradesh): 8 November 2005; Rudrasagar Lake (Tripura): 8 November 2005; Surinsar-Mansar Lakes (Jammu and Kashmir): 8 November 2005; Upper Ganga River (Uttar Pradesh): 8 November 2005.
• Site with maximum area of wetlands: Vembanad-Kol Wetland (Kerala) – 151,250 ha.
• Site with minimum area of wetlands: Renuka Wetland (Himachal Pradesh) – 20 ha.

The criteria for classification of wetlands as a Ramsar site

The nine criteria of Ramsar convention for the identification of wetlands of international importance are as follows:

Group A: contains sites with rare, unique or representative wetland types.

Criterion 1: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it contains a rare, unique or a representative of natural or near natural wetland within its geographical province.

Group B: contains sites for the conservation of biodiversity. (Comprises species and ecological habitats)

Criterion 2: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it supports threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species and their ecological habitats (threatened communities).

Criterion 3: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it supports important floral and faunal species for the maintenance of biodiversity of its geographical area.

Criterion 4: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it supports floral and faunal species which are present at a critical stage of their life cycles, or provides a refuge during unfavorable conditions.

Specific criteria for water birds

Criterion 5: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it regularly supports a population of 20,000 water birds or more.

Criterion 6: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals of a population of one species or subspecies of the water bird.

Specific criteria for fishes

Criterion 7: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it supports a noteworthy proportion of indigenous fish species, sub species, families or important life history stages, specific species interactions, populations which offer wetland benefits and contribute to the global biodiversity.

Criterion 8: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it is a chief source of food for fishes, a spawning ground, or a passage, on which the fishes depend and are present either within the ecosystem or somewhere else.

Specific criteria based on other taxa

Criterion 9: Wetland identified as a Ramsar site if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals of a single or sub species in a population of wetland dependent faunal (animal) species excluding the avian species.

Hydrology of wetlands

Wetland hydrology is characterized by the spatial and temporal distribution, flow and other physical and chemical properties of wetland reservoirs which include both surface and ground water systems. Source of water inflow into the wetlands are mainly precipitation, ground water and surface water while it outflows the wetland via surface run off, sub surface runoff and evapotranspiration. Based on hydrology, the wetlands are classified as: Riverine (corresponding to streams), Lacustrine (corresponding to lakes and reservoirs), and Palustrine (corresponding to isolated systems). The influx and out flux of water within the wetland (HYDRODYNAMICS) affects the temporal variations in water levels (HYDROPERIODS) which controls the water storage and balance within the ecosystem. Other factors that control the wetland hydrology and hydrochemistry are:

1. Landscape ecology: Hydrochemistry of wetlands vary across different landscapes and climatic regimes and are dependent upon pH, nutrients, soil composition, salinity, etc.
2. Role of salinity: in non-riverine wetlands, the salinity is governed by the interactions between the ground water and surface water components.
3. Role of Soil: Apart from carbon, a number of other nutrients are cycled within the wetlands such as hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and phosphorous which are naturally present within the soil of the wetlands. These nutrients are most likely to be influenced by aerobic and anaerobic respiration of the soil biota that further leads to the chemical variation of the water and affects the solubility of phosphorous.
4. Biota: The factors that influence the biota are mainly flood duration, fertility and salinity of soil, slopes and bio geochemistry. Seasonal or recent flood regimes are the reason behind the variation of biota within a wetland.
5. Flora: Submerged vegetation of wetlands: can flourish in fresh water or saline conditions. These provide food source for the submerged fauna, water filter capacity and act as a habitat for invertebrates. Floating vegetation: usually small population and possess filtering capacities and offer a unique diversity. Forested areas (swamps): Upper levels of the swamps are highly affected by dams but these too offer diversity.
6. Fauna: Amphibians like frogs depend on both terrestrial as well as aquatic system to feed and reproduce. Due to their thin skin, they absorb both nutrients and the toxins from the surrounding environment leading to high extinction rate in the polluted water streams and environmental conditions.
7. Algae: Algae are the water plants present in varied habitats such as inland waters, damp soil, inter tidal zones, etc and are of multifarious shape, size and colour. They are a valuable food source for fishes, animals and invertebrates.
8. Temperature: Wetlands are present in EVERY CLIMATIC ZONE. Many wetlands lie in the temperate zone and the site of wetland greatly influences its temperature.
9. Rainfall: The area of a wetland vastly determines the variance in the amount of rainfall.

Benefits from wetlands

The rewards of these wetlands are assessed by Ramsar convention and United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) agencies that rank them as wetlands of ecological significance and of societal importance. The benefits offered by wetlands are as follows:

1. Storage reservoir and Flood control

Floodplains distribute the excess water over a wider area and thus reduces its speed and depth by slowing it down. Wetlands near the headstreams can slow down the sudden rainwater runoff and snowmelt and restrain it to run directly into the land thus, preventing sudden damages by flood streams.

2. Groundwater recharge (replenishment)

Porous sediments allow water to filter through the soil and rocks into the aquifers. When the water table is low, the wetland recharges the groundwater while it discharges the water in case of presence of excess of water.

3. Shoreline stabilization and storm protection

Wetland tidal and inter tidal systems offer protection and stabilization to the coastal zones by reducing the height and speed of the floodwaters. Example: coral reefs act as barriers towards the storms at the shoreline whereas mangroves confer stabilization of the coastal zone.

4. Water purification

Wetlands act as biofilters for the purification of water. Hydrophytes and other organisms also help in the purification as they have the capacity to remove the toxic substances (by uptake) such as industrial effluents, mining pollutants and pesticides. Example: in east Kolkata wetland, aquaculture treats the sewage effluents.

S.No. FLORA/FAUNA HEAVY METAL/TOXINS

1. Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth), Lemna (duckweed) and Azolla (water fern) Help in storage of iron and copper (from waste water)

2. Oyster Filters more than 200litres of water per day

5. Reservoirs of biodiversity

Biodiverse river basins provide nursing and spawning grounds for fresh water species, productive intertidal zones and critical life-stage habitat. It acts as a hotspot for various non threatened, endemic, and endangered species.

6. Wetland products

Wetlands produce an array of ecological products that can be harvested and used for personal and commercial benefits. The products and services that can be obtained are: Fresh and saltwater fishes, food, salt, textile fibers, fodder, medicines, dyes and tannins.

7. Wetlands and climate change

Wetlands help in climate mitigation through carbon sinking and storage of water. They have the ability to store about 44.6 Tg C y−1 globally.

8. Aquaculture

Natural waterways are used to harvest the fishes using wastewater aquaculture farming in some wetlands such as EKW.

9. Cultural value

Wetlands are significant and have religious, historical and archaeological value in various cultures for people as they provide us with food and shelter.

10. Materials and Medicines

Wetlands provide valuable sources such as thatching materials, timber and fuel wood, fibers for textiles, food and fodder, medicines, raw paper making materials, and much more benefits.

11. Recreation areas

Wetlands furnish various leisure facilities-not just scenic beauties but also canoeing, camping, bird watching, swimming, shell collection, hunting and sailing.

12. Vital habitat

Wetlands support a high number of endemic, threatened and endangered species and thus their protection is of utmost important.

13. A refuge for migrating birds

During the unfavorable conditions, a large flock of birds and extra ordinary mass movements of diverse living creatures takes place from one area to another.

Note: Nitrous oxide production from wetland soils: Coastal wetlands are emitters of nitrous oxide (N2O: fluxes through nitrification and denitrification processes) which is a greenhouse gas that can cause global warming up to 300 times that of CO2 and reduce the ozone layer.

Religious and spiritual services offered by wetlands

Verschuuren (2007) presented a simple classification of socio cultural ethics reporting spiritual services of wetlands as “The qualities of wetlands that inspire humans to relate with reverence to the sacredness of wetlands” and proposed the following characteristics:

• Existence of sacred sites;
• Role of wetlands in ceremonial events and sacred texts;
• Oral traditions such as religious songs, chants and stories based on wetlands;
• Totemic wetland related species;
• Religious utilization of wetland flora and fauna; and
• Traditional (culture and religion based) healing systems.

Management initiatives taken by Government and NGOs

Protection laws and government initiatives

(Parikh and Parikli, 1999)

Policies related to Environment

1. The Indian Fisheries Act – 1857 1. National Forest Policy.
2. The Indian Forest Act – 1927 2. National Environment Policy (2006).
3. Wildlife (Protection) Act – 1972 3. National Policy and macro-level action strategy on Biodiversity.
4. Water Act – 1974 4. National Biodiversity Action Plan (2009).
5. Forest (Conservation Act) – 1980 5. National Agriculture Policy.
6. Environmental (Protection) Act – 1986 6. National Water Policy.
7. MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA): National Wetland Conservation Program (NWCP): 115 wetlands have been identified under this program that requires immediate conservation and management strategies.
8. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON): Study and conservation of avian species, wildlife and biodiversity.
9. National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD): RIVER ACTION PLANS executed to improve the quality of rivers by reducing the pollution by implementation of various schemes that identify the polluted water bodies. Launched GANGA ACTION PLAN (GAP) in 1985 and pollution abatement of Rani Chu river in Sikkim.
10. NORTH: CSE (Centre for Science and Environment): Drafted a Legal Framework for Conservation and Protection of Inland Wetlands. Publications: Down to Earth – a fortnightly environment magazine. NORTH: Delhi Greens: Campaigns such as “Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna”.
11. EAST: NE GREENS (2010): it is an extended program of Delhi greens. Its main aim is sustainable development and spread green environment messages, and covers most of the NE states- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
12. SOUTH: Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) (Chennai, Pondicherry, Hyderabad and Coimbatore based): Cleaning of lakes on every Sunday and till 2014 had cleaned about 39 lakes across India. Arasankazhani and Selvachintamani Kulam (first funded by public and then by government in the second year) lakes have “G” shaped central islands that provides suitable habitats for fish spawning and nesting of birds. FIRST OF ITS KIND. The shapes of the lakes and the central islands act as wind barriers and provide roosting place. Apart from this, the lakes also have percolation channels that help in water retention and trap the garbage.
13. WEST: Bombay Natural History Society: its work started on September 1883 at Mumbai. It aims to collect data on the specimens on natural history, study the wildlife related problems and recommend management plans for their conservation. Recently it has revealed 10 Important Birds and Bird Areas (IBAs) which are danger of extinction.

Use of remote sensing and GIS in wetland management

Flood zonation mapping, Inventory and monitoring of irrigation and cropping pattern, Water quality analysis and modeling, Mapping changes in river courses, Delineation of extinct river courses, Water resource management and Habitat mapping using microwave remote sensing.

A global perspective

According to recent estimates from NASA’s maps (Goddard Space Center), wetlands comprise only 3.6% of the world’s total land area. Freshwater wetlands influence the global methane and nitrogen fluxes that contribute 30% and 50% additions respectively of these gases annually. They have the ability to control fairly one third of the methane flux and one half of the nitrogen return to the atmosphere via DENITRIFICATION. Thus, the importance of wetlands on a global scale is generally based on its biogeochemistry or annual productivity. Wetlands also contribute to the global productivity by about 6.3% while mitigating and storing 10% of the soil carbon of the world.

CASE STUDY 1: East Kolkata Wetlands: Resource Recovery System

LOCATION AND AREA DISTRIBUTION: East Kolkata Wetland encompasses a wide number of water bodies that are extended throughout the two districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal and covers an area of about 12,500. 45.93% of the wetland area is manmade built up.

HYDROLOGY: This wetland was earlier considered as a buffer zone, but later on all the urban waste and solid garbage was dumped there. It has no catchment area of its own and about 250 million gallons of sewage per day is disposed in it. For groundwater recharging, there is no good aquifer present till the depth of 400feet. As the waste water passes through the fishery ponds which are spread over 4000 ha, they facilitate the physical, chemical and biological treatment of water and improve its quality. Thus, EKW came to be known as “KIDNEY OF THE CITY”. Ramsar convention described it as: “one of the rare examples of environmental protection and development management where a complex ecological process has been adopted by local farmers for mastering resource recovery activities.

LAND USE PATTERN: 47% of the total area is substantially water body oriented area, 38% is Agricultural area, 5% is Productive farming area and rest 10% are Urban or rural settlements.

ROLE OF CANALS IN URBAN AND RURAL SETTLEMENTS: Wide and deep canals help in fetching sewage while the narrow canals are used by fishery owners for aquaculture.

GOVERNANCE: Garbage dumping ground is under the jurisdiction of (K.M.A.) Kolkata Metropolitan Area and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (K.M.C.).

EVOLUTION OF EKW AS A WASTE RECYCLING REGION: At first, the city used to discharge all its effluents into the river Hooghly that instead of draining out the effluents lead to an annual saturation with colloids and solids occasioned by the rains and floods. Thus, In 1857 William Clarke’s scheme was adopted that was contrived for passing the sewage to the eastern side of the city which would modify the pollutant levels with time as the number of pumping stations increased. Later, the high population boom caused increased demand for water supply and the gradual filing up of the rain fed water systems became inundated with sewage effluents. Thus, the government pressurized the Kolkata co operation to dispense the rainwater into the circular canals. A new system was later adopted in which the city discharged its sewage to the SE river Bidyadhari from there to river Matla and then to Bay of Bengal. Various lock gates and canals controlled the water flow and the sewage was stored in various reservoirs and released only at low tides. Within approximately 10 years, river Bidyadhari started to heavily silt up. it was pronounced as untreatable and dead. Subsequently, the adoption of Dr. B.N. Dey’s Outfall Scheme by the local people to start wastewater fed aquaculture helped in the generation of profits and improved the state economy.

Salt lake reclamation and Calcutta high court’s verdict: In 1945, out of 20,000 acres of wetland 18,000 acres were used for sewage fed pisciculture by 350 fisheries.

Chief minister Dr. Bhidan Chandra Roy proposed to build a satellite township name SALT LAKE CITY. At present only 6500 acres of wetland is left for sewage fed aqua culture and paddy cultivation.

Mechanism of waste water treatment in fish ponds:

1. PISCICULTURE –WSP (WASTE STABILIZATION PONDS): ANAEROBIC (PRIMARY), FACULTATIVE (SECONDARY) and MATURATION (SECONDARY). The slow moving canal streams function as anaerobic and facultative ponds, while fishery ponds act as maturation ponds. The Anaerobic character leads to unsightly and smelly canals and Nitrogen and phosphorous get deposited into the pond as sediments. These stabilization ponds help in the removal of B.O.D. and pathogens.
2. INCORPORATION OF EFFLUENTS INTO ALGAL BIOMASS
3. INCORPORATION OF EFFLUENTS INTO FISH BIOMASS: (Incorporate nutrients and carbon in their body mass).
4. VOLATILIZATION: (some dissolved toxic compounds can evaporate).
   MEASURES TAKEN UP BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: Responsibilities of K.M.C. end when the effluents reach to the outfall channels. Thereafter sewage and waste water is drawn into fisheries of EKW by the fishery owners where within few days of detention, biodegradation of organic compounds of sewage and waste water takes place. The Cumulative efficiency in removing B.O.D. (measure of organic pollution) is above 80% and in reducing coli form bacteria are 99.99% on an avg. Sewage fed fisheries pond act as solar reactors where organic matter is taken up by the phytoplankton that are further taken up by fishes that check upon the population of phytoplankton and convert waste water to consumable forms.

CONCLUSION: Thus, EKW aims at- conservation of biodiversity; improvement of livelihood of local people; Management of wetlands under the Ramsar convention guidelines; and Establishment and maintenance of resource reuse system through productive activities.

2016-3-27-1459060810

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