Wetlands

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the
soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water
creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote
the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils.

Importance of wetlands

 Products and services: Wetlands have unique ecological features which provide various
products and services to humankind. The wetlands provide ecosystem goods such as -
water for irrigation, fisheries, non-timber forest products, water supply, recreation etc.
Some major services include carbon sequestration, flood control, toxics retention,
nutrient removal, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity maintenance.
 Agriculture and fishery sector: Wetlands such as tanks, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs
have long been providing multiple-use water services which include water for irrigation,
domestic needs, ground-water recharge, etc. In terms of growth in fish production in
India, wetlands play a significant role. About 61% of fish production in the country is
from inland water bodies and it is also the second largest aquaculture farmed fish
producer in the world.
 Carbon sequestration: Swamps, mangroves, peat lands and marshes play an important
role in carbon cycle. Wetland soils contain about 200 times more carbon than its
vegetation. In India, coastal wetlands ecosystems including mangroves cover around
43000 km and playing a key role in carbon sequestration. Mangroves are able to
sequester about 1.5 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year.
 Pollution abatement: Wetlands act as a sink for contaminants in many agricultural and
urban landscapes. In India, wetlands are polluted through agricultural runoff and
discharge of untreated sewage and other waste from urban areas.
 Flood control: Wetlands play an important role in flood control. Wetlands help to
decrease the impacts of flooding by absorbing water and reducing the speed at which
flood water flows. For example, a large network of lakes and ponds in major cities
like Srinagar, Bhopal, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad were constructed with the
objective of flood control. Besides, the mangroves along the sea shores, especially on the
western coast in West Bengal and Odisha have been playing a major role in protecting
the coastal environment from the destruction of cyclones that frequently emanate in the
Bay of Bengal.
 Biodiversity hotspots: Wetlands are very important to support species diversity. Because
wetlands provide an environment where photosynthesis and recycling of nutrients can
take place. They also play a significant role in the support of food chains. In India,
freshwater bodies such as lakes, rivers and others support a large diversity of biota
(almost all taxonomic groups). For example, freshwater ecosystems of Western Ghats
alone have 290 species of fish. Similarly, Loktak lake is famous for being the only refuge
of the endangered Sangai (Manipur brow-antlered deer). Wetlands are also important
breeding sites for domestic and migrating bird species. In many such wetland areas of
 India, like Bharatpur wild life sanctuary in Rajasthan, and little Rann of Kutch and
coastal areas of Saurashtra in Gujarat, many migratory species of birds,
including siberian crane, from western and European countries come during winter.
Sarus cranes, black necked cranes, Gangetic river dolphins, the Indian mud turtle and
numerous threatened species of birds and fauna are live in and around wetlands.
Moreover, the approximate number of species of migratory birds recorded from India is
between 1200 and 1300, which is about 24% of India’s total bird species.
 Tourism: Wet-lands such as coral reefs, beaches, reservoirs, lakes and rivers are
considered to be a significant part of the tourism experience in the country. Every year,
around 7.0 million tourists visit Kerala’s backwaters, beaches and wildlife sanctuaries, 3
million visit Uttarakhand’s lakes and other natural wetlands and one million visits Dal
lake in Jammu and Kashmir.
 Cultural significance: Wetlands especially lakes and ponds (e.g. Pushkar lake in
Rajasthan and Ramappa lake in Telangana) are intrinsically linked to the local culture.
They are revered by the masses in recognition of the fact that they are the means of
sustenance of their livelihood.

The threats to wetlands

The major threats to wetlands are the urbanization and anthropogenic activities; land based
industrialization, community demands for food, fodder and fuel. The other threats include
dumping of tile factory wastes, coconut husk curing, sand and shell removal, weed choking,
waste disposal by intensive aquaculture and its wastes, industries and agricultural practices along
the catchment area. Some of the major threats are discussed below.

• Urbanization and land use changes: The urbanization has been increasing rapidly in
recent time. This level of growth resulted into tremendous pressure on wetlands and flood
plain areas for meeting water and food demand of growing population. For example, the
Kanwar lake in Bihar, Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake, has shrunk to one-third of its
size due to encroachment, much like Jammu and Kashmir’s Dal lake. And, about 34000
hectares of the water spread area of the Kolleru lake in Andhra Pradesh have been
reclaimed for agriculture in recent years.

• Agricultural residues: To feed the ever growing population, farmers are using
chemical fertilizers, insecticides to produce high yield of crops. As a result, the chemical
remains for long time in soil and run off with rain water to wetlands that leading to
eutrophication (excess algal growth).

• Municipal and Industrial pollution: Less than 31 percent of the domestic wastewater
from Indian urban centres is treated, compared to 80 percent in the developed world,
which is largely discharged in the natural water bodies such as streams and rivers. For
example, River Yamuna, which passes through 6 Indian States, receives about 1789
MLD of untreated waste water from the capital city of Delhi alone. This is about 78
percent of the total pollution load that flows in to the river every day. Similarly, untreated
industrial effluents have become a major threat to the survival of wetlands. For
 instance, the Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru city was ‘on fire’ in May 2015 due to the
discharge of effluents (especially nutrient rich foams) by the surrounding industries.

• Climate Change: In 2007, the UNESCO estimated that Global climate change is
expected to become an important driver of loss and change in wet-land ecosystem. These
findings are important for India which has been experiencing the flood-drought-flood
cycle for the last 2 [Link] per a study, wetlands located in high altitude as well as
coastal areas, like mangroves and coral reefs, are some of the most sensitive classes that
will be affected by climate change. For example, climate change caused rise in level of
Tsomoriri Lake in Ladakh, a glacial fed high altitude lake, thereby causing submerged
important breeding islands in the lake where endangered migratory birds like the Black-
necked Crane and Bar-headed Goose would breed. As per an estimate, India will lose
about 84 percent of coastal wetlands and 13 percent of saline wetlands with climate
change induced sea water rise of 1 metre. Apart from the above major threats,
immersion of idols and religious ritual waste, introduction of exotic species,
encroachments and unregulated aquaculture (e.g. Kolleru lake) backed by Bureaucrats-
Politicians-Businessmen nexus, dredging, un planned urbanization and development
projects are some of the other dangers threatening the existence of wetlands across the
country.

Management strategies:

1) Ramsar Convention: The convention is named after Ramsar in Iran in which the
convention was ratified in 1971. The convention is aimed at augmenting national action
and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their
resources.
2) National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP): It was launched in 1985 to
enable conservation and wise use of wetlands in the country so as to prevent their further
degradation.
3) The Central Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules: They were notified
for the first time in 2010 for better management and regulation of wetlands across the
country. It saw the formation of Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority
(CWRA) whose term ended on 31 March 2015 and it wasn’t reconstituted since then.
4) National Environment Policy 2006: Recognising the importance of wetlands, it calls for
developing a national inventory of such wetlands and implementing a wide spectrum of
policies and plans for wetland conservation and their environmental impact assessment
(EIA).
5) National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA): It was unveiled in
2015 to provide for policy framework and support to State Governments for integrated
management of wetlands. This initiative was launched by merging two separate Centrally
Sponsored Schemes (CSS), namely the National Wetlands Conservation Programme
(NWCP) and the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP).
6) Capacity Building: in order to increase the capacity of wetland managers, up gradation
of the existing Wetland Research and Training Centre of Chilika Development
Authority at Barkul, Odisha into the National Capacity Development Centre for
Wetlands is under consideration
Ramsar sites (As on December,2021)

Area
Sl. Date of
Name of Site State Location (in Sq.
No. Declaration
km.)
1 Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh 19.8.2002 901
2 Deepor Beel Assam 19.8.2002 40
3 Kabartal Wetland Bihar 21.07.2020 26.20
4 Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary Gujarat 24.09.2012 120
5 Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary Gujarat 05.04.2021 6.99
6 Wadhvana Wetland Gujarat 05.04.2021 6.30
7 Sultanpur National Park Haryana 25.05.2021 1.425
8 Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary Haryana 25.05.2021 4.12
9 Chandertal Wetland Himachal Pradesh 8.11.2005 0.49
10 Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh 19.8.2002 156.62
11 Renuka Wetland Himachal Pradesh 8.11.2005 0.2
12 Wular Lake Jammu & Kashmir 23.3.1990 189
13 Hokera Wetland Jammu and 8.11.2005 13.75
Kashmir
14 Surinsar-Mansar Lakes Jammu and 8.11.2005 3.5
Kashmir
15 Tsomoriri Lake Jammu and 19.8.2002 120
Kashmir
16 Asthamudi Wetland Kerala 19.8.2002 614
17 Sasthamkotta Lake Kerala 19.8.2002 3.73
18 Vembanad Kol Wetland Kerala 19.8.2002 1512.5
19 Tso Kar Wetland Complex Ladakh 17.11.2020 95.77
20 Bhoj Wetlands Madhya Pradesh 19.8.2002 32.01
21 Lonar Lake Maharashtra 22.7.2020 4.27
22 Nandur Madhameshwar Maharashtra 21.6.2019 14.37
23 Loktak Lake Manipur 23.3.1990 266
24 Bhitarkanika Mangroves Orissa 19.8.2002 650
25 Chilka Lake Orissa 1.10.1981 1165
26 Beas Conservation Reserve Punjab 26.9.2019 64.289
27 Harike Lake Punjab 23.3.1990 41
28 Kanjli Lake Punjab 22.1.2002 1.83
29 Keshopur-Miani Community Punjab 26.9.2019 3.439
Reserve
30 Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary Punjab 26.9.2019 1.16
31 Ropar Lake Punjab 22.1.2002 13.65
32 Keoladeo Ghana NP Rajasthan 1.10.1981 28.73
33 Sambhar Lake Rajasthan 23.3.1990 240
34 Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Tamil Nadu 19.8.2002 385
Sanctuary
35 Rudrasagar Lake Tripura 8.11.2005 2.4
36 Haiderpur Wetland Uttar Pradesh 8.12.2021 69.08
37 Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh 19.9.2019 2.246
38 Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh 2.12.2019 7.22
39 Saman Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh 2.12.2019 52.63
40 Samaspur Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh 3.10.2019 79.94
41 Sandi Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh 26.9.2019 30.85
42 Sarsai Nawar Jheel Uttar Pradesh 19.9.2019 16.13
43 Sur Sarovar Uttar Pradesh 21.8.2020 4.31
44 Upper Ganga River Uttar Pradesh 8.11.2005 265.9
(Brijghat to Narora Stretch)
45 Asan Conservation Reserve Uttarakhand 21.7.2020 4.444
46 East Kolkata Wetlands West Bengal 19.8.2002 125
47 Sunderbans Wetland West Bengal 30.1.2019 4230

(Source: Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India