The natural resources of a country constitute its
greatest wealth and India is fortunate in this respect. It is
a land with varied terrain comprising mountains, plains, deserts,
a long coastline and enjoying a wide range of climatic conditions.
Its rich flora and fauna has made the World Bank declare India
as one of the twelve ‘megadiversity’ countries of the world.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests is
the nodal agency for the conservation, regeneration and protection
of natural resources. In our environmental development programmes
wetlands did not occupy the government’s attention till recently.
Many people consider wetlands as waste areas and hence they are
destroyed or drained for other development activities. 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.
Wetlands are areas of land where the water
level remains near or above the surface of the ground for most
of the year. The wetlands cover about 6 per cent of the earth’s
land surface. There are several kinds of wetlands such as marshes,
swamps, lagoons, bogs, fens and mangroves. They are home to some
of the richest and most diverse and fragile of natural resources.
As they support a variety of plant and animal life, biologically
they are one of the most productive systems in the world.
Wetlands perform many useful functions. They
help check floods, prevent coastal erosion and mitigate the effects
of natural disasters like cyclones and tidal waves. They also
store water for long periods. Many wading birds and water fowl
like ergets, herons and ibises nest in wetlands. These areas also
provide food and shelter for mammals such as mink, otters and
swamp antelopes like sitatunga. They also act as natural filters
and help remove a whole range of pollutants from water such as
viruses from sewage works or heavy metals from industrial plants.
In short, the terrestrial, marine and atmospheric eco systems
interact in complex, dynamic and often unknown ways.
Unfortunately, development projects such
as ports and big dams and expansion of human activities especially
of commercial nature are threatening the wetlands. It is in this
context that the Ramsar convention becomes relevant.
The Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an inter-governmental
treaty with 135 contracting parties. The Mission statement of
the Convention says – "The convention’s mission is the conservation
and wise use of all wetlands through local regional and national
actions and international cooperation as a contribution towards
achieving sustainable development throughout the world."
(Ramsar, 2002).
There are 1235 wetland sites totaling 106.6
million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List
of Wetlands of International Importance. India too is a signatory
to the Ramsar Convention especially on the Waterfowl Habitat.
To mark the date of the signing of the convention
on wetlands, 2nd February of each year is observed as World Wetlands
Day (WWD). It was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and the
beginning was quite encouraging. Each year a theme is suggested
for the day. Last year it was ‘Water, Life, Culture’. This year’s
theme was ‘No Wetlands – No Water’. This theme was chosen in honour
of the UN’s International Year of Fresh Water (IYF). This is to
strengthen the UN’s efforts and also to be the first to initiate
the IYF celebrations.
As a part of conservation strategy a data
book called Montreaux Record is kept of all those wetlands which
require international help for conservation. The inclusion of
a site in this list makes it eligible for global package for conservation.
Each year an award known as ‘International Ramsar Convention Award’
is given to the best conservation efforts and it carries a cash
prize of $ 10,000 and a commendation.
Indian Wetlands
In India a total area of 40494 sq. kms is
classified as wetlands. This consists only 1.21 per cent of the
total land surface. Most of the wetlands in India are directly
or indirectly linked with major river systems such as the Ganga,
the Cauvery, the Krishan, the Godavari and the Tapti. A Directory
of Wetlands in India (1988) gives information on the location,
area and ecological categorization of wetlands of our country.
Efforts to conserve wetlands in India began
in 1987 and the main focus of governmental efforts is on biological
methods of conservation rather than adopting engineering options.
A national wetland mapping project has also been initiated for
an integrated approach on conservation.
Recently, eleven wetlands in India have been
categorized for seeking international assistance to save them
from distress situation. These include Point Calimere in Tamil
Nadu, Astamudi, Sasthamkolta lake and Vembanad wetlands in Kerala,
Kolleru lake in Andhra Pradesh, Bhitrakanika mangroves in Orissa,
Pong Dam lake in Himachal Pradesh, East Calcutta wetlands in West
Bengal, Bhoj wetlands in Madhya Pradesh, Tsomoriri in Jammu and
Kashmir and Deepor Beel fresh water lake in Assam.
On the brighter side the Chilka lake which
was on Montreaux Record of Ramsar due to adverse changes in its
ecological character caused by pollution and other anthropogenic
pressure was removed from the list last year. Subsequently it
bagged the International Ramsar Conservation Award for what the
award committee has called as "the outstanding work in the
field of conservation and wise use of wetlands involving local
committees". It is interesting to find that it was chosen
from among 59 entries for the cash prize- a remarkable achievement
indeed, considering the fact that it was in the black list until
last year.
Another shining example of community participation
is the celebration of WWD by wetland lovers on February 2, 2002,
at the Sambhar lake, some 100 kms from Jaipur. Local communities,
bird watchers, scientists and students got together pledging their
support to restore the lake to its past glory. It is the second
time that Sambhar has provided the backdrop for WWD celebrations.
It is heartening to see the Government, NGO’s
and local community coming together to save our wetlands and thus
realize the objective of Ramsar Convention. (PIB Features)
* Freelance Writer
SAVE THE WETLANDS
– A CALL FROM RAMSAR
