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There is clear water up to your ankles and dragonfly zips past your head as you watch some ducks fly off the water - welcome to the soggy world of the wetland. Source: www.welcomeorissa.com. WETLANDS…………………….
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There is clear water up to your ankles and dragonfly zips past your head as you watch some ducks fly off the water - welcome to the soggy world of the wetland Source: www.welcomeorissa.com
WETLANDS……………………. • Lands where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the surrounding environment. Other common names for wetlands are bogs, ponds, estuaries, and marshes.
FOOD WEB IN A WETLANDECOSYSTEM Source: www.cas.muohio.edu
Why are wetlands important ? Wetlands prevent flooding by holding water much like a sponge. By doing so, wetlands help keep river levels normal and filter and purify the surface water. Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water.
A THREATENED ECOSYSTEM • The increased food production of the past fifty years has led to important losses of wetland ecosystems. • Agriculture now uses 70% of all global water withdrawals; wetlands are drained for cultivation, and threatened by agricultural pollution, through nitrogen, phosphorous, pesticides. • The construction of dams, supporting irrigation development, destroy floodplains, the riparian habitat and species breeding ground. • Another major threat to wetlands comes from new construction and infrastructure development. This threat is likely to increase.
Why do we need to map wetlands? For the long-term conservation planning of wetlands, spatial data and information is required for any intervention. Wetland eco-system constitute an integral part of cultural and biodiversity landscape of India. It is estimated that 3.5 millions ha exists in the country according to the 1992-1993 study by the Space Application Centre. However, this information pertains to wetlands above 56ha in size. Past research on wetland conservation in the country has shown conclusively that micro wetlands or satellite wetlands around a bigger wetland act as a constellation of habitat mosaic for resident and migratory waterfowl. This is of special importance for inland wetland habitats in the flyways of migratory birds in the Indo-Gangetic plains and in Deccan peninsula. Often, the size of these micro wetlands is much smaller than 50ha Therefore, there is a great need to map wetlands of size smaller than 50ha. Spatial information on wetlands resources is a critical and an urgently needed for an effective conservation of these important eco-system.
The richness and usefulness of the wetlands was first brought to the notice of the world by a convention on wetlands held in Ramsar, an Iranian city situated on the shores of the Caspian Sea, in 1971.
Front cover of World Wetland Day 2006 postcard World Wetland Day 2 nd February. Number of Ramsar sites in India is 25.
WETLAND CLASSIFICATION SCHEME INLAND WETLANDS: Man made. Natural. Lakes/Ponds. Oxbow lakes. Waterlogged (seasonal). Swamp/marsh. Playas. Reservoirs. Tanks. Abandoned quarries. Ash pond/cooling pond.
Coastal Wetland: Natural Estuary. Lagoon. Creek. Bay. Tidal flat. Coral reef. Mangrove. Artificial Salt pan. Aquaculture.
Area Estimates of Wetlands of India (in million ha) (Source: Directory of Asian Wetlands, IUCN, 1995).
Community dependence on the Chilika Lake. Source: www.ias.ac.in
Chilika Lake region has 132 fishing villages with a total population of more than 10 million. • About 30% (33,3 00) of the fishing village population are active fishermen, although many others depend indirectly on the fisheries. • There is a large forest area both on the coastal side and around the lake which quote successfully is being covered by casuarinas (near the sea shore), eucalyptus and cashew under both a SIDA-supported and the government's own social forestry programme. But the tribals and the local communities entirely depend upon the forest to meet their own fuel requirements and they also cut and sell it in the local market. • The area around the lake, not covered by human settlement and forest, is under intense farming – mainly cashew in dry land and paddy cultivation in wetland.
NATIONALWETLAND STRATEGY Should encompass Protection: The primary necessity today is to protect the existing wetlands. Of the many wetlands in India, only around 68 wetlands are protected. But there are thousands of other wetlands that are biologically and economically important but have no legal status.
Planning, Managing and Monitoring: Wetlands that come under the Protected Area Network have management plans but others do not. It is important for various stakeholders along with the local community and the corporate sector to come together for an effective management plan. Active monitoring of these wetland systems over a period of time is essential.
Coordinated Approach: Because Wetlands are common property with multi-purpose utility, their protection and management also need to be a common responsibility. An appropriate forum for resolving the conflict on wetland issues has to be set up. It is important for all the relevant ministries to allocate sufficient funds towards the conservation of these ecosystems
Research: There is a necessity for research in the formulation of a national strategy to understand the dynamics of these ecosystems. This could be useful for the planners to formulate strategies for the mitigation of pollution. The scientific knowledge will help the planners in understanding the economic values and benefits, which in turn will help in. setting priorities and, focusing the planning process.
Building awareness: For achieving any sustainable success in the protection of these wetlands, awareness among the general public, educational and corporate institutions must be created. The policy makers at various levels, along with site managers, need to be educated. Because the country's wetlands are shared, the bi-lateral cooperation in the resource management needs to be enhanced.
REFERENCES • The environment by Chris Park. • Ecology and environment by B.P.Pandey. • WWF-India newsletter.Issue I -2006. • www.wetlandsofindia.org • www.edugreen.teri.edu • www.ramsar.org • www.chilika.com
THANK YOU Presented by Ajai Tiwari (Roll 6) Santanu Chakraborty (Roll 44)
