The
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance adopted at Ramsar, Iran in
Feb. 1971, popularly known as Ramsar Convention, aims to preserve and protect
wetland ecosystems together with dependent water bird species and make the wise
use of wetlands for the benefit of people.
Wetlands
cover 3 % of the Indian landmass and harbor a vast variety of life forms that
are a part of the complex food of these transitional ecosystems. About 320
species of birds are associated with the Indian Wetlands. Apart from birds, the
wetlands support a diverse population of plants & animals including 150
species of amphibians.
Since
signing this convention in 1982, India has till date designated 19 wetlands as
Ramsar sites. Some of these sites are:
Bhoj Wetland
Included on 19/08/02. in Madhya
Pradesh. is two contiguous human made reservoirs the "Upper Lake" was
created in the 11th century by construction of an earthen dam across the Kolans
River, and the lower was constructed nearly 200 years ago, largely from leakage
from the Upper, and is surrounded by the city of Bhopal. The lakes are very
rich in biodiversity, particularly for macrophytes, phytoplankton, zooplankton,
both natural and cultured fish species, both resident and migratory birds,
insects, and reptiles and amphibians. A number of bird species have been
sighted which had rarely or never before been seen in the region since last couple
of years.
Kanjli Lake
Included on 22/01/02 in Punjab is a
permanent stream, the Kali Bein, converted by construction of a small barrage
in 1870 into a water storage area
for irrigation purposes. The site fulfils Criteria 3 because of its importance
in supporting a considerable diversity of aquatic, mesophytic, and terrestrial flora and fauna in the
biogeographical region, and acts also as a key regulator of groundwater
discharge and recharge with the seasons.
By this means and by direct abstraction of water for irrigation by the local
population, the site plays a crucial role in the agriculture which predominates on the surrounding
fertile plain, with fewer pressures upon water supplies than elsewhere in the
Punjab.
Harike Wetland
Included on 23/03/90 in Punjab is a
shallow water reservoir with thirteen islands, at the confluence of two rivers.
Dense floating vegetation covers 70% of the lake. An important site for
breeding, wintering and staging birds, supporting over 200,000 Anatidae (ducks,
geese, swans, etc.) during migration.
Ashtamudi Lake
Included on 19/08/02 is an extensive
estuarine system, the second largest in Kerala State, which is of extraordinary
importance for its hydrological functions, its biodiversity, and its support
for fish. The site supports a number of mangrove species as well as over 40
associated plant species, and 57 species of birds have been observed, including
six that are migratory. Nearly 100 species of fish are to be found in this
area.
Deeper Beel
Included on 19/08/02 in Assam.is a
permanent freshwater lake in a former channel of the Brahmaputra river, of
great biological importance and also essential as the only major storm water
storage basin for the city of Guwahati. The beel is a staging site on migratory
flyways and some of the largest concentrations of aquatic birds in Assam can be
seen, especially in winter. Some globally threatened birds are supported,
including Spotbilled Pelican (Pelicanus philippensis), Lesser and Greater
Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus and dubius), and Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri).
Chilka Lake
Included on 01/10/81 in Orissa is a
brackish lake separated from the Bay of Bengal by a long sandy ridge and
subject to sea water exchange, resulting in extreme seasonal fluctuations in
salinity in different sections of the lake. Saline areas support aquatic algae.
The site is an important area for breeding, wintering and staging for 33
species of waterbirds. It also supports 118 species of fish, including
commercially important species.
Kolleru Lake
Included on 19/08/02 in Andhra Pradesh
is a natural eutrophic lake, situated between the two major river basins of the
Godavari and the Krishna, fed by two seasonal rivers and a number of drains and
channels, which functions as a natural flood balancing reservoir between the
deltas of the two rivers. It provides habitat for a number of resident and
migratory birds, including declining numbers of the vulnerable Grey Pelican (Pelecanus
philippensis), and sustains both culture and capture fisheries, agriculture and
related occupations of the people in the area.
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| Chitals in Keoladeo Park |
Keoladeo National Park
Included on 01/10/81 in Rajasthan is a
World Heritage Site and has a complex of ten artificial, seasonal lagoons,
varying in size, situated in a densely populated region. Vegetation is a mosaic
of scrub and open grassland that provides habitat for breeding, wintering and
staging migratory birds. Also supported are five species of ungulates, four
species of cats, and two species of primates, as well as diverse plants, fish
and reptiles. The canal provides water for agriculture and domestic consumption.
Cattle and water buffalo graze on the site.
Bhitarkanika Mangroves
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| Bhitarkanika wetland (Odisha) |
Included on 19/08/02 in Orissa. is one
of the finest remaining patches of mangrove forests along the Indian coast 25 years
of continued conservation measures have made the site one of the best known
wildlife sanctuaries. The site's Gahirmatha beach is said to host the largest known
Olive Ridley sea turtle nesting beach in the world, with half a million nesting
annually, and the site has the highest density of saltwater crocodile in the
country, with nearly 700 Crocodylus porosus. It is a major breeding and
wintering place for many resident and migratory waterbirds and is the east coast's
major nursery for brackish water and estuarine fish fauna. Like many mangrove
areas, the dense coastal forests provide vital protection for millions of
people from devastating cyclones and tidal surges of India's 58 recorded
species of mangroves, 55 species are found in Bhitarkanika, wider mangrove
diversity than in the Sundarbans!
East Calcutta Wetlands
Included on 19/08/02 in West Bengal.
is world renowned as a model of a multiple use wetland, the site's resource
recovery systems, developed by local people through the ages, have saved the
city of Calcutta from the costs of constructing and maintaining waste water
treatment plants. The wetland forms an urban facility for treating the city's
waste water and utilizing the treated water for pisciculture and agriculture,
through the recovery of nutrients in an efficient manner the water flows
through fish ponds covering about 4,000 ha, and the ponds act as solar reactors
and complete most of their biochemical reactions with the help of solar energy.
Thus the system is described as "one of the rare examples of environmental
protection and development management where a complex ecological process has
been adopted by the local farmers for mastering the resource recovery
activities" (RIS). The wetland provides about 150 tons of fresh vegetables
daily, as well as some 10,500 tons of table fish per year, the latter providing
livelihoods for about 50,000 people directly and as many again indirectly.
Point Calimere
Included on 19/08/02.in Tamil Nadu. is
situated in coastal area consisting of shallow waters, shores, and long sand
bars, intertidal flats and intertidal forests, chiefly mangrove, and seasonal,
often saline lagoons, as well as human made salt exploitation sites. Some 257
species of birds have been recorded, 119 of them waterbirds, including the
vulnerable species Spoonbill Sandpiper (Euryhorhynchus pygmaeus) and Grey Pelican
(Pelecanus philippensis) and some 30,000 Greater and Lesser Flamingos. The site
serves as the breeding ground or nursery for many commercially important
species of fish, as well as for prawns and crabs.
VembanandKole Wetland
Included on 19/08/02 in Kerala. is the
largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of
India, fed by 10 rivers and typical of large estuarine systems on the western
coast, renowned for its clams and supporting the third largest waterfowl
population in India during the winter months. Over 90 species of resident birds
and 50 species of migratory birds are found in the Kol area.
Ropar Lake
Included on 22/01/02 in Punjab is a
human made wetland of lake and river formed by the 1952 construction of a
barrage for diversion of water from the Sutlej River for drinking and irrigation
supplies. The site is an important breeding place for the nationally protected
Smooth Indian Otter,
Hog Deer,Sambhar , and several
reptiles, and the endangered Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is thought
to be present. Some 35 species of fish play an important role in the food
chain, and about 150 species of local and migratory birds are supported.
Tsomiriri
Included on 19/08/02 in Jammu &
Kashmir is a freshwater to brackish lake lying at 4,595m above sea level, with
wet meadows and boraxladen wetlands along the shores. The site is said to
represent the only breeding ground outside of China for one of the most
endangered cranes, the
Blacknecked crane (Grus nigricollis),
and the only breeding ground for Barheaded geese in India. The Great Tibetan
Sheep or Argali (Ovis
ammon hodgsoni) and Tibetan Wild Ass
(Equus kiang) are endemic to the Tibetan plateau, of which the Changthang is
the westernmost part.
Wular Lake
Included on 23/03/90 in Jammu &
Kashmir is the largest freshwater lake in India with extensive marshes of
emergent and floating vegetation, particularly water chestnut, that provide an
important source of revenue for the State Government and fodder for domestic
livestock. The lake supports an important fishing industry and is a valuable
source of water for irrigation and domestic use. The area is important for
wintering, staging and breeding birds.
Loktak Lake
Included on 23/03/90 in Manipur is a
large, but shrinking freshwater lake and associated swamplands supplied by
several streams. Thick, floating mats of weeds covered with soil (‘phumids’)
are a characteristic feature. The lake is used extensively by local people as a
source of water for irrigation and domestic use and is an important wintering
and staging area for water birds, particularly ducks.
Pong Dam Lake
Included on 19/08/02 in Himachal Pradesh
is a water storage reservoir created in 1975 on the Beas River in the low
foothills of the Himalaya on the northern edge of the IndoGangetic plain. The
RIS notes that "at a time when wetlands in northern India are getting
reduced due to extensive drainage and reclamation, the avian habitats formed by
the creation of the Pong Dam assume a great significance" given the site's
location on the transHimalayan flyway, more than 220 bird species have been
identified, with 54 species of waterfowl. Lowyield subsistence fishing existed prior
to impoundment, but since, a lucrative fishery has grown up, with 27 fish species
and a yield increasing markedly each year some 1800 fishermen now have direct
employment and 1000 families benefit indirectly.
Sambhar
Included on 23/03/90 in Rajasthan is a
large saline lake fed by four streams set in a shallow wetland and subject to
seasonal fluctuations. It is surrounded by sand flats and dry thorn scrub and
fed by seasonal rivers and streams. The site is important for a variety of
wintering waterbirds, including large numbers of flamingos. Sasthamkotta Lake Included
on 19/08/02 in Kerala is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala state in the
southwest of the country, springfed and the source of drinking water for half a
million people in the Kollam district. Some 27 freshwater fish species are
present. The water contains no common salts or other minerals and supports no
water plants; a larva called "cavaborus" abounds and eliminates
bacteria in the water, thus contributing to its exceptional purity.
Courtesy- Indian Nature Tours ™
