India's wetlands: Balancing conservation and development

By Raj Kumar Sinha*
The International Wetland Convention was held on the Caspian Sea coast in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971. At this convention, the United Nations declared February 2nd as World Wetlands Day. Wetlands that are considered important worldwide for biodiversity and humans are given the status of 'Ramsar Sites'. Certain criteria have been set for granting Ramsar Site status to any wetland. The main criteria include the wetland being rare and natural, and providing shelter to the life cycle of endangered species in adverse conditions.

The notification of wetlands paves the way for their conservation and the possibilities of receiving Ramsar Site status in the future. Notification is quite significant as it works to legally recognize the water body, in addition to determining the boundaries of the wetland and identifying its impact zone. Governments do not actively take interest in the notification of wetlands because after notification, the boundaries of the wetland are determined, besides regulating the activities in and around it.
Farmers and fishermen, along with all the people living around them, are connected to wetlands for their livelihood, and all these people are directly affected after the notification is issued. Unauthorized encroachment on land by land mafias around the lake also creates obstacles in the notification process. According to 'Wetlands International', about 30 percent of India's wetlands have disappeared in the last three decades. The number of Ramsar sites in the world is 2414, and India has 85.

In Madhya Pradesh, the number of 'Ramsar Sites' has become five after including 'Raja Bhoj Talab' of Bhopal, 'Sirpur Lake' and 'Yashwant Sagar' pond of Indore, 'Sakhya Sagar' located in 'Madhav National Park' of Shivpuri district, and Tawa Reservoir in August last year. According to a recent media report, rapid construction is taking place not only in the catchment but also in the Full Tank Level (FTL) of Bhopal's Big Lake, which is a declared Ramsar site. About five to seven acres of marshy land have been solidified, and resorts, clubhouses, and restaurants have been built on it. The administration should strictly deal with this uncontrolled illegal construction.
The Madhya Pradesh State Wetland Authority had sent a proposal to the state government for the notification of six lakes under the Wetland Rules 2017. These include Jadhav Sagar and Madhav Sagar in Shivpuri district, Sagar lakes in Sagar district, Sindh Sagar in Isagarh of Ashoknagar district, Amrit Sagar in Ratlam, and Sita Sagar in Datia district. The government's efforts need to move forward in the right direction with the right objectives. Therefore, all these six lakes should be notified soon under the State Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017. The rules also have a provision for a public hearing before notification.
The tribal Gond queen Rani Durgawati of Mandla had constructed 52 ponds in Jabalpur city, but due to illegal construction and urbanization, only a handful of incomplete ponds remain. Despite adequate resources, the 30-kilometer flow area of the Narmada in Jabalpur and numerous ponds like 'Sangram Sagar', 'Madhotal', 'Bal Sagar', 'Deotal', etc., have not been able to find a place in 'Ramsar Sites' due to lack of management.
Wetlands, known by the names of ponds, large reservoirs, and coastal areas around us, are not just the abode of thousands of biological units, but the crisis of today's biggest climate change can also be dealt with by relying on them. Wetlands are our most effective ecosystem to deal with the climate change crisis. They play an important role in reducing temperature and pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide.

The carbon absorption capacity in marshy land is twice the carbon storage capacity of forests. There are a total of 82,643 water bodies in Madhya Pradesh, out of which more than half, 45,386, are not in use. The 'Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change' has sent a proposal to the 'Ramsar Secretariat, Switzerland' to get the status of 'Wetland City' for three cities in the country: Indore, Bhopal, and Udaipur. If a city gets the status of 'Wetland City', the doors for international cooperation for environmental protection there will open.

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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association

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