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Wetlands of Majuli: the Second Largest River Island of the World Majuli, the Largest Human Inhabited River Island of Assam

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Wetlands of Majuli: the Second Largest River Island of the World Majuli, the Largest Human Inhabited River Island of Assam HHimalayanimalayan EEcologycology ISSN: 2277-9000 Vol. 11 (3), 2014 Inside the issue ... Securing the future of Himalayan Wetlands The wetlands of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)..... Page 1 Wetlands of Majuli: The second largest river island of the world Majuli, the largest human inhabited river island of Assam..... Page 3 Aquaculture and Ecotourism Potential in Arunachal Pradesh: Mehao and Ganga lakes Sharma Subrat credit: Photo Arunachal Pradesh lying within the high An arial view of Loktak Lake precipitation zone is..... Page 4 Loktak Lake: A fresh water lake of Securing the future of Himalayan wetlands International Importance in NE India Loktak lake located in the Bishnupur..... he wetlands of Indian Himalayan Region February, marks the date of the adoption of the Page 5 T(IHR) scattered in different geographical Convention on Wetlands on 2 February, 1971 regions from high altitude cold arid zone of Ladakh in Iran. Deepor Beel: The Ramsar Site of Assam to the flood plains of Brahmaputra, are mosaic of The growing concern about the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary and the Ramsar site..... varying sizes ranging from lentic to lotic habitats. conservation of wetland biodiversity has led They have a great role to play in preserving the the search for more eco-friendly, sustainable Page 6 earth’s fragile eco-system and are regarded as direct and more effective as well as economic Lakes of Kumaun in Uttarakhand: or indirect life supporting systems for millions of strategies. Identification of the key drivers Temporal variation in water..... living beings having great economic, aesthetic and of wetland change and adoption of suitable Uttarakhand state comprises two major scientific importance. They are crucial habitats mitigation measures is the only way to combat regions namely Kumaon and Garhwal..... for many types of plants and animals, represent the loss of wetland habitats. Therefore, probable Page 7 one of the highest levels of species diversity and natural and anthropogenic factors should be Endangered Indus Dolphin: Harik richness and provide many ecosystem services quantified and their adverse impacts should be lake conservation including flood control, improvement of water shared with the common people to make them The Beas River flows nearly 130 km before quality and play most important role in global aware the needs of wetland conservation, thus meeting Sutluj River..... carbon and methane cycles. But their values making them a vital part of the conservation Page 8 are often overlooked. Heavy siltation, human programme. A community led multidisciplinal- Ecosystem Services of a Mountain encroachment, overexploitation, rapid melting of multistakeholder wetland management plan Lake: A case of Nainital..... glaciers due to climate change, rapid urbanization owned by the community and its victorious Each day 15.45 million litres of water is used and new settlements accompanied by intensified execution is of prime importance, which can for drinking and household..... commercial activities leads to pollution of only revive our wetlands for longer duration Page 9 wetlands by domestic and agricultural run-offs with desired development. causing shrinkage in wetland habitat. This issue of ‘ENVIS Newsletter on Hokersar: Famous for the “Radh” Conservation and wise use of wetlands Himalayan Ecology’ focuses on wetlands of the The wetlands of Kashmir-Kokersar, Haigam, is the main goal of the intergovernmental treaty, Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and provides Mirgund, Shalbug..... Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, glimpses of the some of the unique features. Page 10 in 1971 which was developed as a means to call This starts with the value of the wetlands in international attention. There are presently 168 the lives of tribal communities through article Wetlands of Himachal Pradesh: Short Contracting Parties to the Convention, with on “Wetlands of Majuli” in river Brahmputra Notes 2186 wetland sites (26 in India and 9 in IHR, which is the second largest river island of Maharana Pratap Sagar Location: Kangra total area 689,131 hectares), totaling 208,449,227 the world. This island is in the tentative list district..... ha wetlands of International Importance. The of UNESCO for nomination under World World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 Heritage Culture Category. Going further in the Page 11 1 ENVIS Newsletter on Himalayan Ecology Vol. 11(3), 2014 ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology Editors’ Note Dear Readers, Himalaya presents a highly diverse environment in terms of ethnic diversity, relief features, A Quarterly Publication Vol. 11(3), 2014 flora-fauna, natural resources, and the culture. The processes of human settlements in The “ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology” is at the region have resulted in the evolution of a wide variety of cultural adaptations and G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment subsistence practices which were compatible with the natural environment and kept the and Development (GBPIHED), Kosi-Katarmal, functionality of the natural ecosystems almost intact for a long period of time. Recently, Almora, Uttarakhand, which is an autonomous this ecological balance has disturbed under the pressure of increasing human activities, Institute of Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), New Delhi, India. population pressure, demands of development, climate vulnerability and inherent geological fragility and sensitivity of the Himalayan environment. Analyses of such changes and consequent impacts for Himalayan ecology and development require critical analyses Coordinator ENVIS by the subject experts of various fields. Keeping this point in mind, from this issue of ENVIS P.P. Dhyani Newsletter, we are staring a tradition of subject specific guest editors, so that our readers Director get Himalaya-wide information on the subject. The first special newsletter in this series is focused on Himalayan wetlands, which includes Scientist-In-Charge ENVIS Subrat Sharma coverage on rivers, wet grasslands, and the glacial and other lakes. These wetlands support unique ecosystems and services that sustain the livelihoods of people, and are important Executive Editor staging areas for migratory birds and breeding grounds for a variety of aquatic and avian G.C.S. Negi fauna, and amphibian species (more details on role of wetlands is available on http:// www.wetlands.org). The Himalayan wetlands and the biodiversity therein are vulnerable Editorial Board to threats of climate change, glacial melt, fishing, livestock grazing, pollution, and the Subrat Sharma urban proliferation. The global attention, therefore, is focussed on conservation of such Ranjan Joshi Puneet Sirari unique ecosystems. The Ramsar Convention on wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty (http://www.ramsar.org) that provides a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Till date The “ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology” 2,186 Ramsar Sites have been designated in the world which represents 208,449,277 ha of collects, collates, compiles and builds quantitative surface area. The Indian Himalayan region includes 9 Ramsar Sites representing a total area and qualitative databases of information in the fields related to the Himalayan Ecology. of 49971 ha. A special issue on wetlands therefore looks quite justified. The information is disseminated regulary via We feel pleasure in putting across this issue to our readers, and encourage to online as well as hardcopies to several valuable share their experiences and learning related to any relevant issue of Himalayan Ecosystems. stakeholders and various users such as DICs, Happy reading … universities, institutions along with other ENVIS Centre running parallel to support overall Editors Environmental Information System for India. ENVIS Staff east from Majuli, the virgin lakes (Mehao and Name State Area (ha) Vipin Chandra Sharma Ganga) of the easternmost hill state, Arunachal Satish K. Sinha Pradesh in the Indian Himalayan Region, are Hokera J&K 1,375 Arvind Kumar explored for aquaculture and eco-tourism Surinsar-Mansar Lakes J&K 350 potential. Further travelling in the NE region Tsomoriri J&K 12,000 of IHR reader will enjoy the mesmerizing Guest Editor beauty of Phoomdis, the unique floating habitat Wular Lake J&K 18,900 Ranjita Bania, PhD of endangered “Sangai” in ‘Loktak lake - A Chandertal HP 49 Programme Head fresh water lake of International Importance’. Aquaculture, Wetland and Livelihood Division Coming down to Assam, a brief note on the Pong Dam Lake HP 15,662 Jeeva Suraksha, Swahid Binu Das Road Ramsar site (Deepor Beel) focuses on genesis, Renuka HP 20 Phulkon Nagar, Sivasagar 785640, Assam species richness along with future strategies Loktak Lake MN 1,375 [email protected] to be taken to restore this residual ecosystem. Reaming articles give some of the uniqueness Rudrasagar Lake TR 240 of the western Himalayan region of the IHR. In Ramsar sites of Indian Himalayan Region Uttarakhand State potential for development Photos are provided by authors unless stated of wetland conservation of Indian Himalayan of cold water fisheries in some mid elevation otherwise region which is no doubt of high ecological lakes of Kumaon region has been explored and importance, truly gives me immense pleasure. unique connections of hydrology and some Disclaimer: The information furnished is based on This issue brings a humble effort to aware and of the ecosystem services provided by the the inputs received
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