Context: Meghalaya High Court’s recent suo motu public interest litigation to monitor wetland conservation highlights the urgency of protecting these ecosystems.
Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Wetland Conservation
Wetland
- Wetland is an area of land that is either covered with water or saturated with water.
- These are transition zones between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
- E.g., Mangroves, lake littorals (marginal areas between highest & lowest water level of the lakes), floodplains (areas lying adjacent to the river channels beyond the natural levees and periodically flooded during high discharge in the river) & other marshy or swampy areas.
Importance of Wetlands
- Nature’s own filter: Act as nature’s kidneys by recycling nutrients & removing sediments from surface & groundwater. Make surrounding land mass fertile for the growth of crops.
- Biodiversity conservation: Wetlands contribute to human well-being through provision of food, energy and clean water, support to livelihoods and biodiversity.
- Enhance climate adaptation & resilience from extreme weather:
- It helps in replenishing groundwater; their filtering capacity helps to protect groundwater quality.
- Acts like a sponge & helps in flood control by soaking extra water from the surroundings.
- Thus it acts as buffer shorelines against erosion & pollutants.
- Carbon emission mitigation: Acts as a carbon sink, soils around wetlands can store carbon for many years (climate change mitigation).
- Provides ecological, cultural & socio-economic benefits to society:
- Provides habitat for wildlife & fisheries, including threatened species.
- It provides opportunities for tourism (recreational), research fishing and other commercial activities.
Pressure on Wetlands
- Global wetland decline:
- Wetlands cover 6% of the Earth’s surface but provide 40.6% of ecosystem services.
- 50% of wetlands have been lost since 1900.
- Between 1970 and 2015, wetland surface area declined by 35%.
- Loss rate: (-) 0.78% per year, three times higher than natural vegetation loss.
- Biodiversity threats:
- 81% decline in inland wetland species since 1970.
- 36% decline in coastal and marine species.
- Increasing extinction risks for wetland species.
- Major causes:
- Urbanisation and Industrialisation: Rapid expansion of cities has led to the destruction of wetlands for infrastructure development.
- Agricultural Expansion: Conversion of wetlands for farming reduces biodiversity and disrupts water balance.
- Pollution: Industrial waste, sewage, and agricultural runoff contaminate wetland ecosystems.
- Climate change: Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns impact wetland hydrology.
- Overexploitation of resources: Unsustainable fishing, groundwater extraction, and land reclamation degrade wetlands.
Wetland Conservation in India
- India’s Ramsar Commitments:
- India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention. As of February 2025, India has 89 Ramsar sites designated across diverse ecological zones.
- Status of Wetlands:
- Total wetland area: 15.98 million hectares (National Wetland Decadal Change Atlas, 2017-18).
- Ramsar sites cover only 1.33 million hectares (~8% of total wetlands).
- 66.6% of wetlands are natural (43.9% inland, 22.7% coastal).
- Decline:
- Natural wetlands in India are shrinking.
- Nearly 30% of India’s natural wetlands have been lost in the last four decades due to urbanisation, pollution, and encroachment.
- Major urban centres have witnessed alarming losses:
- Mumbai has lost 71% of its wetlands from 1970 to 2014
- East Kolkata Wetlands have shrunk by 36% between 1991 and 2021
- Chennai has lost 85% of its wetlands, as per a WWF study.
Read More: Wetlands
Economic Implications of Wetland Loss
- A study in Cali, Colombia, estimated that the loss of urban wetland ecosystem services amounts to $76,827 per hectare annually, while the loss in peri-urban areas is $30,354 per hectare annually.
- Similar losses can be expected in India, given the rapid rate of wetland degradation.
Strategies for Wetland Conservation
- Integrated wetland management: Aligning wetland conservation with broader environmental and development goals.
- Policy and governance: Implementing stricter regulations to prevent encroachments and pollution.
- Community involvement: Encouraging local participation in wetland restoration and protection.
- Technology and research: Utilising satellite imagery, GIS mapping, and AI to monitor wetland changes.
- Climate change mitigation: Recognising wetlands as both a source and sink of carbon, making them crucial for climate action.
Also Read: Four more wetlands declared Ramsar Sites in India
Wetland Conservation and Global sustainability
- Conservation and management of wetlands are now seen as integral to global sustainability.
- 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the Ramsar Convention held in 2022 emphasised the need for wetlands to be part of broader environmental strategies.
- The conference stressed that wetland conservation should not be a standalone initiative but should be linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Global Biodiversity Targets, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and climate change mitigation efforts.
Effective implementation of the Ramsar Strategic Plan would contribute significantly to global environmental sustainability.