Cosmos Multidisciplinary Research E-Journal Online Available at www.cmrj.in Recognized International Peer Reviewed Journal Impact Factor 4.94 ISSN No. 2456-1665 WETLAND: AS A RESOURCE OF INDIA DIPENDU MONDAL Saltora B.Ed and D.El.Ed College, Bankura, West Bengal [email protected] Abstract Since the origin of man on earth, man has used various elements of nature to suit his needs. In the past, people discovered fires to protect themselves while living in caves and to burn animal meat. This is how people meet their needs from different places. Nature has given us a lot of resources, one of which is wetlands. India has a deep socio-economic and cultural relationship with this wetland. Different types of wetlands have developed in different parts of India through flood control, ground water recharge, protection of water quality, protection of biodiversity, water supply to factories, waste disposal, climate control and protection of natural beauty in India. These wetlands are very important in terms of biodiversity. Because different species of aquatic plants, algae, plankton, fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, terrestrial plants, medicinal plants, etc. are found here, wetlands have been identified as the habitat of several endangered species in the world. About 37 wetlands in India are identified as Ramsar sites. Which is much more important. Migratory birds from different parts of the world come here to enhance the natural beauty of the place. Keywords-Wetland, Ramsar site, flood control, Groundwater recharge, Climate control, biodiversity, Introduction- Our Earth originated about 4.5 billion years ago. Since then, the Earth has been constantly cooling to its present state. About 70 % of the earth's surface is water and only 30 % is land. Different types of biodiversity have developed in every part of the world. In the same way, a place full of biodiversity is a wetland. About 6% of the world's wetlands are covered by a separate ecosystem. As a result, its environmental importance is immense. However, at present, due to various human activities, wetlands are being damaged, which is causing damage to the man, environment and various living, non-living elements in the environment. Objectives of the study- Wetlands are an important resource of our environment that not only benefits humans and wildlife, it is also important for the environment. From this,we can control flood, ground water recharge, maintain water quality, protect biodiversity, water supply, climate control, protection from marine storms etc. Despite its many benefits, it is not properly conserved, so it is important to make people aware and try to balance the biodiversity. Definition - A definition of wetlands was given at the ‘Ramsar Conference’ held in Iran in 1997 is ‘An areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing fresh, brackish or salty including areas of marine water the depth of which at low Tides does not exceed six metres’. A wetland is a low-lying area of land that is inundated with water all year round, where a variety of aquatic plants and animals can be observed and which are created by human and natural causes. Wetlands come in a wide range of structures. They can be flowing zones, bogs, lowlands or marshes among numerous different kinds. In any case, they all offer attributes that make them wetlands. Characteristics of Wetland-- The main features of a wetland that can be identified by various features are – 1. This is a degraded part of land. Volume V - Issue IV (Oct-Nov-December 2020) Page 52 Cosmos Multidisciplinary Research E-Journal Online Available at www.cmrj.in Recognized International Peer Reviewed Journal Impact Factor 4.94 ISSN No. 2456-1665 2. It contains water at different times of the year. 3. The depth of water does not exceed 9 m. 4. It grows a variety of aquatic plants and animals. 5. It has a specific ecosystem. 6. It has economic, social and environmental importance. 7. Wetland water can be sweet or salty in taste. Wetland’s location in India- About 4.7% of India’s land area is wetlands. India has about 58.2 million hectares of wetlands, that helps India in water supply, Irrigation, produce electricity, fishing, flood control, climate control, Increase natural beauty etc. Total 37 wetlands have been identified as ‘Ramsar site’ in India. These are- 1. Wular Lake - 18,900 ha 2. Hokera - 1,375 ha 3. Surisnsar-Mansar Lakes- 350 ha 4. Tsomoriri - 12,000 ha 5. Chandertal- 49 ha 6. Pong Dam lake - 15,662 ha 7. Kanjili- 183 ha 8. Harike Lake - 4,100 ha 9. Ropar -1,365 ha 10. Renuka- 20 ha 11. Sambhar Lake- 24,000 ha 12. Keoladeo National Park - 2,873 ha 13. Upper Ganga River -26,590 ha 14. Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary- 4,100 ha 15. Bhoj Wetland- 3,201 ha 16. Deepor Beel- 4,000 ha 17. Loktak Lake- 26,600 ha 18. Rudrasagar lake- 240 ha 19. East Kolkata Wetlands- 12,500 ha 20. Bhitarkanika Mangroves- 65,000 ha 21. Chilika- 1,16,500 ha 22. Kolleru Lake- 90,100 ha 23. Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary- 38,500 ha 24. Vembanad-Kol- 1,51,250 ha 25. Ashtamudi- 61,400 ha 26. Sashthamkotta Lake- 373 ha 27. Sundarban Wetland- 423,000 ha 28. Nandur Madhameshwar- 1437 ha 29. Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve- 343.9 ha 30. Samaspur Bird Sanctuary-799 ha 31. Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary- 722 ha 32. Sarsai Nawar Jheel- 161 ha 33. Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary- 116 ha 34. Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary- 225 ha 35. Sandi Bird Sanctuary- 308.5 ha 36. Beas Conservation Reserve- 6428.9 ha 37. Saman Bird Sanctuary- 526.3 ha The importance of wetlands- In order to protect the environment, we must pay attention to the conservation of wetlands. The above mentioned wetlands help the people and the environment a lot - Volume V - Issue IV (Oct-Nov-December 2020) Page 53 Cosmos Multidisciplinary Research E-Journal Online Available at www.cmrj.in Recognized International Peer Reviewed Journal Impact Factor 4.94 ISSN No. 2456-1665 1. Flood control- After excess rainfall, some of the rain is absorbed by the soil and the rest is blown away and deposited in various low-lying areas such as wetlands. Currently, most of the wetlands are being filled and constructs houses or mills, which is increasing the incidence of floods. 2. Groundwater recharge- Most of our drinking water, we collect from different wells or tube wells. This groundwater is usually saturated with rainwater. This means that in areas where the amount of rainwater is high, the groundwater level is usually very close to the groundwater table. These wetland systems can controlling changes in the water table above 130 metres. The seepage of this wetland saturates the ground water table so that the ground water recharges easily. 3. Maintaining water quality- Wetlands are often contaminated with toxic and contaminated water from various mills, resulting in contaminated water. However, various types of plants and algae present in the wetlands make the water suitable for human consumption by purifying the pollutants and harmful substances dissolved in the water. 4. Protecting biodiversity- Each wetland develops a different type of ecosystem in which aquatic plants and animals predominate and different species arrive at the center of the wetland. 5. Factory water supply- Different types of factories collect their required water from the wetlands, so the mills for water depend a lot on the wetlands. 6. Waste disposal- Polluted and toxic water from different types of factories is discharged directly into the wetlands which purifies the water by absorbing the contaminants like different types of algae, weeds, fish etc. present in the wetlands. 7. Climate control- Wetlands are called the kidneys of nature. They control the climate by maintaining the balance of Co2,Methane gas absorb, controls the climate through carbon fixation. The evapotranspiration caused by algae and weeds present in the wetlands helps in maintaining the humidity of the environment. 8. Protecting natural beauty- The arrival of different types of algae, weeds, aquatic animals, migratory birds around the wetlands enhances the natural beauty of the place. The major wetlands of India and their importance- There are a total of 37 wetlands in India which are of considerable environmental, social and economic importance. 1. Wular lake –This lake is located in jammu and Kashmir. It is about 260 square kilometers and a depth of 14 meters. It is important from the point of view of environmental importance. It contains different types of plants, animals, aquatic animals, birds, algae, etc. There are different types of fish, such as – Rosy barb, mosquitofish,common carp, chush snowtrout, etc. species of birds can be seen here. Like –himalayan golden eagle, Himalayan monal, common cuckoo, Indian roller, barn swallow, etc. There are about 70 species of phytoplankton in this wetland, one of which are Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Euglenophyceae. These phytoplankton help a lot in fixing ecological disturbances. They greatly reduce the amount of pollutants emitted from different types of factories. 2. Hokera lake- It is located in Jammu and Kashmir with a size of 1375 hectares at a depth of 0.91 m to 2.4 m. There are different types of flora present in this lake, like macrophytes, Phragmites australis and Trapa natans. It is famous as a Bird Reserve. Most of the migratory birds that come here from Central Asia and Siberia. Between 2000- 2001, about 500,000 water birds arrived, most notably birds are Ruddy shelduck, common pochard, red-crested pochard, Eurasian coot etc. 3. Surisnsar-Mansar Lakes- The lake is located in Jammu and is located on two adjacent lakes of Surisnsar and Mansar.