{"id":26987,"date":"2018-10-18T17:50:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T12:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=26987"},"modified":"2019-07-12T14:29:54","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T08:59:54","slug":"threats-to-wetlands-and-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/threats-to-wetlands-and-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Threats to Wetlands and conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>What is wetland? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wetlands are area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether\nnatural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or\nflowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of\nwhich at low tide does not exceed six metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Examples:<\/strong> Wetlands include mangroves,\npeatlands and marshes, rivers and lakes, deltas, floodplains and flooded\nforests, rice-fields, and even coral reefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Categories of wetlands<\/strong>: The wetlands\nare usually split into four distinct categories with further distinctions\ndepending on location and other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Marshes:<\/strong>\n Marshes are wetlands that are always inundated, rather than being\n submerged under water.Marshes can be freshwater or saltwater and amount of\n water in the marsh can change with the seasons.<\/li><li><strong>Swamps:<\/strong>\n Swamps differ from marshes in that, typically, they are dominated by woody\n plants (rather than soft-stemmed plants). <strong>There are two main types of\n swamps: forested swamps and shrub swamps. <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Bogs:\n <\/strong>Bogs are characterized by more acidic waters and spongy peat deposits\n as well as a covering of sphagnum moss. Unlike marshes and swamps, bogs\n tend to get their wetness from precipitation rather than waterways such as\n streams or runoffs from rivers. There are <strong>two types of bogs: northern\n bogs and pocosins.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Fens<\/strong>:\n Fens are, like bogs, peat-forming wetlands, although they usually get\n their wetness from ground water rather than precipitation, which means\n that they are slightly less acidic.<\/li><li><strong>Peatlands\n <\/strong>include moors, bogs, mires, peat swamp forests and permafrost tundra.\n Peatlands represent half of the Earth\u2019s wetlands and cover 3% of the\n global total land area.<\/li><li><strong>Mangrove\n forests<\/strong> are found in tropical and subtropical regions in tidal areas,\n which are frequently inundated with salt water.<\/li><li><strong>Dry\n region wetlands:<\/strong> These wetlands include rivers, swamps, and lakes and\n spring that dry up for portions of the year. Dry regions are found in Asia,\n Australia, Africa, the Middle East and North and South America.<\/li><li><strong>High\n altitude wetlands<\/strong> store water from rain and glacial melt, feed\n groundwater stores, trap sediments and recycle nutrients, enhancing both\n the quantity and quality of water.<\/li><li><strong>Arctic\n wetlands<\/strong> store enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and are critical\n for global biodiversity. These are dependent on frozen permafrost for\n their ability to store carbon.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India-specific distribution:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Glaciatic\n Wetlands<\/strong>: These are found at altitudes higher than 3,000 metres above <strong>mean<\/strong>\n sea level, often fed by glaciers or snow from the surrounding mountains.\n e.g. Tsomoriri in Jammu and Kashmir, Chandertal in Himachal Pradesh.<\/li><li><strong>Tectonic\n Wetlands<\/strong>: These <strong>wetlands<\/strong> are shaped by <strong>tectonic<\/strong> activity\n (uplift, subsidence), and the weathering, erosion, transportation and\n deposition of surface materials by surface water, groundwater, gravity,\n ice and wind. Such as Nilnag in Jammu and Kashmir, Khajjiar in Himachal\n Pradesh.<\/li><li><strong>Oxbow\n Wetlands<\/strong>: An <strong>oxbow<\/strong> is an arc or crescent shaped body of water\n located in an abandoned river channel. Like Dal Lake, Wular Lake in Jammu\n and Kashmir and Loktak Lake in Manipur and some of the wetlands in the\n river plains of Brahmaputra and Indo-Gangetic region.<\/li><li><strong>Lagoons<\/strong>:\n It is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by\n barrier islands or reefs. E.g.&nbsp; Chilika in Orissa<\/li><li><strong>Crater\n Wetlands<\/strong>: It is a fresh-water lake formed by the accumulation of rain\n and groundwater in a caldera or crater after lava eruption. Like Lonar\n lake in Maharashtra.<\/li><li><strong>Salt\n water Wetlands<\/strong>: These are <strong>coastal <\/strong>ecosystem in the upper <strong>coastal<\/strong>\n intertidal zone between land and open <strong>saltwater<\/strong> or <strong>brackish\n water <\/strong>that is regularly flooded by the tides. Such as Pangong Tso in\n Jammu and Kashmir and Sambhar in Rajasthan.<\/li><li><strong>Urban\n Wetlands<\/strong>: These wetlands are located within the urban suburbs. E.g.\n Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, Nainital in Uttaranchal and Bhoj in Madhya\n Pradesh.<\/li><li><strong>Ponds\/Tanks\/Reservoirs<\/strong>:\n These are man-made and thus artificial wetlands. Like Harike in Punjab,\n Pong Dam in Himachal Pradesh, Idukki, Hirakud dam, Bhakra-Nangal dam.<\/li><li><strong>Mangroves<\/strong>:\n A mangrove swamp is a distinct saline woodland or shrubland habitat formed\n by mangrove trees. These are characterized by depositional coastal\n environments, where fine sediments (often with high organic content)\n collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action. E.g. Bhitarkanika\n in Orissa.<\/li><li><strong>Coral\n reefs:<\/strong> Coral reefs are well known marine wetlands. Coral reefs are\n underwater structures made from calcium carbonate produced by corals. For\n example Lakshadweep.<\/li><li><strong>Creeks:<\/strong>\n A creek is a narrow place where the sea comes a long way into the land.\n E.g Thane Creek in Maharashtra, seagrasses, estuaries, thermal springs are\n some kinds of wetlands in the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Regional extent of wetlands in India<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>As\n per the National Wetland Atlas 2011, In terms of the proportion of the\n geographical area, Gujarat has the highest proportion (17.5%) and Mizoram\n has the lowest proportion<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>(0.66%) of the area under wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Among\n Union Territories in India, Lakshadweep has the highest proportion (around\n 96%) and Chandigarh has the least proportion (3%) of geographical area\n under wetlands.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Wetlands:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Productive\n ecosystems: <\/strong>Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the\n world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs.<\/li><li><strong>Carbon\n sequestration:<\/strong> All types of wetlands are carbon sequestering systems\n (carbon sinks), from temperate freshwater wetlands to boreal peatlands.\n Terrestrial wetland soils also function as carbon sinks and can store\n carbon produced by upland agriculture, forestry and other land uses.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Blue carbon<\/strong> is the type of carbon that is stored by coastal wetland vegetation such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marsh grasses. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong>\n An immense variety of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians,\n reptiles, birds, fish and mammals can be part of a wetland ecosystem. <strong>Tropical\n peat swamp forests<\/strong> are home to many rare and critically endangered\n species such as the<strong> Orangutan and Sumatran tiger.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Migratory\n birds:<\/strong> Wetlands are also important to millions of waterbirds that\n breed in Europe and Asia, such as waders and herons.<\/li><li><strong>Tsunami\n prevention:<\/strong> Mangroves absorb and disperse tidal surges associated with\n these events: a mangrove can reduce the destructive force of a tsunami by\n up to 90%.<\/li><li><strong>Flood\n prevention: <\/strong>Peatlands absorb heavy rainfall, providing protection\n against floods, and release water slowly, ensuring a supply of clean water\n throughout the year.<\/li><li><strong>Natural\n water filters: <\/strong>Wetlands are the world\u2019s water filters which trap\n pollutants such as phosphorus and heavy metals in their soils, transform\n dissolved nitrogen into nitrogen gas, and break down suspended solids to\n neutralize harmful bacteria.<\/li><li><strong>Regulation\n of stream flow<\/strong>: Wetlands are often compared to sponges, in their\n ability to absorb water in wet periods, and release it during dry periods.<\/li><li><strong>Sediment\n trapping<\/strong>: Wetlands reduce runoff velocity, and wetland vegetation is\n effective in trapping and retaining sediment.<\/li><li><strong>Phosphate\n and nitrate assimilation<\/strong>: Wetland removes the phosphates and nitrates\n carried by runoff water through its vegetation and the action of anaerobic\n bacteria (which would otherwise not exist in fast-flowing, energised\n streams or rivers.<\/li><li><strong>Erosion\n control<\/strong>: Wetlands can limit the extent of erosion, predominantly\n through the protection provided by vegetation, and through their ability\n to reduce stream flow velocity.<\/li><li><strong>Industry\n benefits:<\/strong> Wetlands also provide important benefits for industry. For\n example, they form nurseries for fish and other freshwater and marine life\n and are critical to commercial and recreational fishing industries.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Threats to wetland ecosystems:<\/strong> Threats to\nwetland ecosystems comprise the increasing biotic and abiotic pressures and\nperils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Climate\n change:<\/strong> Increase in temperature is causing polar ice to melt and sea\n level to rise. This in turn is leading into shallow wetlands being\n submerged and some species of mangrove trees being submerged and drowned.<\/li><li><strong>Pollution<\/strong>:\n Drainage and runoff from fertilized crops and pesticides used in\n agriculture introduce nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients and other toxins\n like mercury to water sources. These chemicals can affect the health and\n reproduction of species posing a serious threats to biological diversity.<\/li><li><strong>Over\n exploitation of wetland resources<\/strong>: Increasing human population and\n change from subsistence to commercial exploitation of wetlands resources\n continue to exert pressure on limited wetland resources resulting into its\n decline.<\/li><li><strong>Industrial\n activities:<\/strong> This threat comes from draining wetlands for establishing\n industrial sites also industrial activities are threats to wetlands\n because of dumping of industrial wastes to wetlands.<\/li><li><strong>Agricultural\n activities<\/strong>: These are big threats to wetland since farmers convert the\n wetland into cultivable land due to its fertility and availability of\n water. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of wetlands have been drained for\n agriculture.<\/li><li><strong>Tourism:\n <\/strong>Many tourist activities taking place in wetlands have lead to draining\n of these wetlands so as to establish tourist facilities like hotels or\n camping sites.<\/li><li><strong>Introduction\n of invasive alien species:<\/strong> Bringing Illegally or otherwise of\n nontraditional or alien species into wetlands such as water hyacinths,\n Nile perch and clay fish can disturb the natural ecosystem of wetlands,\n leading to their degradation.<\/li><li><strong>River\n regulation and water diversion: <\/strong>These refer to altering the natural\n flow of rivers, streams, floodplains and wetlands by building dams, and\n other structures on rivers and waterways which leads to wetland degradation\n by the disturbance of natural catchment of river.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Bihar\u2019s shrinking wetlands:<\/strong> \u00a0 <br> \u25cf\u00a0\u00a0Kanwar lake in Begusarai, Bihar which has the distinction of being Asia\u2019s largest oxbow lake has shrunk rapidly post 2000. <br>\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 An extensive study by <strong>Bihar State Pollution Control Board <\/strong>has found that the\u00a0 permanently waterlogged area was a mere 2.80 percent of the total net area sown. <br><strong>East Calcutta Wetlands:<\/strong> Bhagabanpur Mouza, which in 2002 was 88 percent water body, became 80 per cent land by 2016, according to a study by the Society for Creative Opportunities and Participatory Ecosystems. <br> \u25cf\u00a0 The settlement area for habitation increased from 0.18 per cent in 2002 to 13.2 per cent in 2016. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps Taken: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s initiatives: <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Legal framework<\/strong>: Though there is no\nseparate legal provision for wetland conservation in India, it is indirectly\ninfluenced by number of other legal instruments. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Wildlife\n (Protection) Act 1972<\/li><li>Water\n (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974<\/li><li>Environmental\n (Protection) Act 1986<\/li><li>Biodiversity\n Act 2002<\/li><li>Scheduled\n Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest\n Rights) Act 2006.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Policy framework:&nbsp; <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The <strong>National\n Environment Policy (NEP) 2006<\/strong> seeks to set up a legally enforceable\n regulatory mechanism for identified wetlands to prevent their degradation,\n enhance their conservation and wise-use by all the stakeholders.<\/li><li>The <strong>National\n Action Plan on Climate Change 2008<\/strong> recognises the important role of\n wetlands in the context of climate change.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules,2017:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Decentralise\n <\/strong>wetlands management by giving states powers to not only identify and\n notify wetlands within their jurisdictions but also keep a watch on\n prohibited activities.<\/li><li>It\n also indirectly widens the ambit of permitted activities in wetlands by\n inserting the <strong>`wise use&#8217; principle, <\/strong>giving powers to state-level\n wetland authorities to decide what can be allowed in larger interest.<\/li><li>The\n Centre&#8217;s role will be restricted to monitoring its implementation by\n states UTs, recommending transboundary wetlands for notification and\n reviewing integrated management of selected wetlands under the Ramsar\n Convention.<\/li><li>A\n comprehensive<strong> digital inventory<\/strong> of all wetlands is to be prepared\n within a year.<\/li><li><strong>Central\n Wetlands Regulatory Authority<\/strong> (CWRA) has been replaced by the<strong>\n National Wetland Committee,<\/strong> which has a merely advisory role. E.g.\n recommending transboundary wetlands for notification, reviewing the\n progress of integrated management of Ramsar Convention sites etc.<\/li><li><strong>Restrictions\n <\/strong>&#8211; As per the new rules, encroachments on wetlands have been banned.<\/li><li>It\n also prohibits solid waste dumping, discharge of untreated waste and\n effluents from industries and human settlements.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Best Practices:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In\n Mutlupur in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, a group of farmers have turned\n the wetlands into a productive area and source of livelihood. Here farmers\n consulted veterinary, agricultural, fishery and horticultural experts to\n apply on the ground the latest technologies and developments in integrated\n farming.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global initiatives: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramsar Convention on Wetland:<\/strong> It is an\nintergovernmental treaty, signed in 1971,&nbsp; which provides the framework\nfor national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise\nuse of wetlands and their resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>&nbsp;Major obligations of countries which are party to\nthe Convention are:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Designate\n wetlands for inclusion in the <strong>List of Wetlands of International\n Importance<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Promote,\n as far as possible, <strong>the wise use of wetlands in their territory<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Promote\n <strong>international cooperation <\/strong>especially with regard to transboundary\n wetlands, shared water systems, and shared species.<\/li><li>Create\n <strong>wetland reserves<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Montreux Record:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Montreux\n Record under the Convention is a register of wetland sites on the List of\n Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character\n have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of\n technological developments, pollution or other human interference.<\/li><li>It\n is maintained as part of the Ramsar List. Two sites in India namely,\n Loktak lake ( Manipur) <strong>and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), are part\n of this list.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way forward: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Identifying\n and refining strategies for wise use, and reviewing best practices of\n participatory wetland management from around the world<\/li><li>Provision\n incentives for local and indigenous people\u2019s involvement and wise use:\n everyone must benefit in the long term.<\/li><li>The\n active commitment and collaboration of stakeholders are essential for the\n management of a wetland (e.g., when the wetland is inhabited or privately\n owned)<\/li><li>Participatory\n monitoring: partnerships between management and local people to monitor\n the ecological character of wetlands, and progress towards the community\u2019s\n own objectives<\/li><li>Construction\n should be allowed in the most eco-friendly manner and remedial measures\n must be adopted in the vicinity of the area.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is wetland? Wetlands are area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. Examples: Wetlands include mangroves, peatlands and marshes, rivers&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/threats-to-wetlands-and-conservation\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Threats to Wetlands and conservation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-editorials","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/mangroves-senegal-pieter.jpg?fit=578%2C432&ssl=1","views":{"total":25,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1698469075},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}