- The global community is witness to extremely erratic weather patterns over the last couple of decades courtesy of precipitative factors like greenhouse gases, unbridled developmental works, unscientific infrastructure developments in ecologically sensitive areas, pollution, rampant fossil-fuel burnings, and similar measures. The cumulative effects of these factors have only aided in mother nature responding in kind. Hitherto unheard of El Nino and La Nina, atmospheric weather patterns denoting strange occurrences like severe droughts, excess rains, sudden cloudbursts, unseasonal snowing, unhead of heatwaves, global warming, and generally irregular occurrences. Needless to mention, mankind is under tremendous pressure to counter these vagaries.
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- Unfortunately, we humans are pressing ahead with our one-point agenda of development without considering the fragility of the ecosystem in withstanding these assaults. Mind you, one of the most vital components of our existence is the adequate availability of water for not only sustaining lives on this planet but also ensuring a harmonious existence without disturbing the delicate balance prevailing in the universe. As reported recently, data from Wetlands International shows India has lost nearly two of five wetlands in the last 30 years, while 40% of them can’t support aquatic animals. Most of this degradation is thanks to the usual culprits as mentioned above plus over-exploitation.
- Given that wetlands are vitally important for water storage and aquifer recharge and play the role of storm buffers and flood mitigators, their erosion is bad news on several critical fronts. Wetlands are also natural carbon sinks, making them crucial for combating climate change. Note that a total of 75 Indian wetlands with a surface area of over a million hectares are designated as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, which India ratified in 1982. But even the largest among them, the Sundarbans wetland, has lost around 25% of its mangroves due to erosion over the past three decades. One of the main culprits for this is a reduction in sediments due to upstream dams.
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- Similarly, encroachment and construction on urban wetlands have made cities susceptible to flooding. Alarmingly, Vadodara lost 30% of its wetlands between 2005 and 2018, while Hyderabad lost 55% of its semi-aquatic bodies due to inefficient waste management and unchecked urban development. Indeed, the Union Government has notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 to serve as a regulatory framework for conservation efforts. But most of the assistance provided is directed towards the notified Ramsar sites, ignoring urban wetlands. Greater awareness must be created all around to preserve these bodies as wetlands are natural shock absorbers. We need that protection. Otherwise, the situation will worsen.
