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URBAN WETLAND RENEWAL IN INDIA
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: Nearly 30 per cent of the natural wetlands in India have been lost in the last three decades mainly to illegal construction, unsustainable urbanisation, agricultural expansion and pollution, according to estimates by Wetlands International South Asia. Wetlands not only support high concentrations of biodiversity, but also offer a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services like food, water, fiber, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, storm protection, erosion control, carbon storage and climate regulation.
- Damage: Chennai lost 90 per cent of its wetlands to unplanned urbanisation, leaving the city to grapple with issues of water security and degraded environment. Vadodara lost 30.5 per cent of its wetlands between 2005 and 2018. Hyderabad lost 55 per cent of its wetlands to inefficient waste management, rising pollution and unchecked urban development. Mumbai lost 71 per cent, Ahmedabad 57 per cent, Bengaluru 56 per cent, Pune 37 per cen and Delhi-National Capital Region lost 38 per cent wetlands mainly to construction and eutrophication from pollution.
- Factors: In addition to the urbanisation needs, lack of awareness and knowledge on wetlands and their ecosystem services can be blamed for this widespread loss.
- Initiatives:
- The National Mission for Clean Ganga in January 2021 formulated a toolkit for management of wetlands and water bodies in urban areas as well as studying the concerns of rapid urbanisation.
- On the occasion of World Wetland Day, a massive scientific and community-based programme to develop health card and management of 10 wetlands in each of the 50-plus Ganga districts was launched by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (water resources).
- In June 2021, the Delhi Development Authority invited public comments on Master Plan Delhi 2041 (MPD 2041) to protect and develop an integrated network of ‘green and blue assets’ of Delhi to maintain the biodiversity and microclimate of the capital. The plan laid out strategies to enhance public connection with nature. It encourages residents and stakeholders to play a role in the protection and improvement of the green-blue assets to develop community ownership.
- The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) sent the plan to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for approval and is inching closer to getting it finalised soon. These are all steps in the right direction for India’s urban planning strategy.
- Solutions:
- Mainstreaming wetlands ecosystem services and biodiversity into our developmental policies and urban planning processes, including climate change mitigation, is the pressing need of the hour.
- Mega urban schemes like Smart Cities Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation need to add the aspects of sustainable management of wetlands.
- Cities are unable to cater to the water demand due to a policy vacuum as there is no well-defined ‘National Urban Water Policy’ to guide urban water management.
- Wetlands are impacted profoundly by damming and water abstraction: Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, Loktak Lake, Chilika Lake, Vembanad Kole are among those severely impacted by dams that affect water and silt flows.
- Indian Space Research Organisation carried out the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment using remote sensing satellites from 2006 to 2011 and mapped around two lakh wetlands in India. Besides this, however, little effort has been made by the states in identifying wetlands.
- There is a need for stronger enforcement of rules. For example, the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems and the Wetlands Conservation and Management Rules, 2017 (updated in 2020), have had limited impact as regulatory bodies like the Central Wetland Regulatory Authority only have advisory powers.
- Regenerating water bodies: Awareness is the first step towards protection. Some teams use a five-point wetland revival process. First, hyacinth and garbage are cleaned off the water. Then, the water body is divided depending on its size and water is drained from each section. The bottom is left to dry completely and if required, they excavate the bottom. A path is created around the area for plants and finally, water is flown back in it and the waterbody is rejuvenated.
- Pan-India: The Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad under ISRO and Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI), Kochi will jointly identify and demarcate wetlands smaller than 2.25 hectares across India’s coastline. They will protect the water bodies through the ‘coastal livelihood programmes’ to build resilience against the impact of climate change. The creation of the toolkit will also enable urban local bodies, urban managers, urban planners and other stakeholders to address the water management issues by achieving action on ground in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
- Summary: Such smart and innovative ideas along with increasing space for people’s participation in management and decision making for their wetlands are a desperate requirement for building a climate resilient future for India.
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