Conservation of wetlands are crucial to our defence against climate change and they act as buffers against storms, prevent flooding, control erosion, and store and purify water.
Mushtaq Ahmad Bala
Kashmir traditionally known as paradise on earth for its beauty is replete with diverse types of fresh water bodies.Majority of these natural aquatic system are shallow basined and classified under western Himalayan wetlands. The wetlands of Kashmir valley are mostly located in the flood plan of River Jehlum and Sind and are characterized by the varying in Hydroedaphic features. All the wetlands are linked with each other. Wetlands form a significant part of our ecosystem. Wetlands decrease flooding, remove pollutants from water , recharge groundwater, protect
shorelines, provide habitat for wildlife , and perform other various important functions. Records say that there are 29 wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir State, 16 in the Kashmir valley, eight in Jammu and five in Ladakh. All of these have been brought under conservation plans.
As people around the globe commemorated World Wetlands Day, Wetlands in Kashmir are on the verge of extinction in absence of sustained conservation measures by Government.
World Wetlands Day, commemorated on February 2 world-wide, marks the signing of a convention on wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, on this day in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar for conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands. The day is a global awareness campaign celebrated every year to highlight the value of wetlands. In Kashmir, many functions marked the day with passing of resolutions to restore wetlands.
The flat topography of river Jhelum, spanning 175 sq km from south to north Kashmir, makes J&K’s summer capital Srinagar vulnerable to flooding. Wetlands on the left and right of Jhelum act as reservoirs of the floodwaters. But in the last five decades, most of the wetlands, referred to as nature’s kidneys have lost their carrying capacity due to conversion into agriculture land or concrete landscape.Ecologically important wetlands in the Jhelum floodplains like Hokersar, Bemina wetland, Narakara wetland, Batamaloo numbal, Rakh-e-arth, Anchar lake and Gilsar have been degraded due to rapid encroachment and urbanisation.The total area of the major wetlands in the Jhelum basin with an area greater than 25 ha has decreased from 288.96 sq km in 1972 to 266.45 sq km at present.It has been observed that in and around Srinagar city only, 20 wetlands have been lost to urban colonies during the last five decades, particularly in the South of Srinagar.As per a Govt.reports, J&K has lost 2372 kanals of wetlands in the last over a decade. Over 120 hectares (2372 kanal) of wetland were lost in J&K between 2006-07 and 2017-18, according to a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), a Department of the GoI concerned with coverage and quality of statistics.
Considered to be Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Wular lake in north Kashmir is fast losing its grandeur to extensive pollution, siltation and encroachments. Belying tall claims of the government of launching an ambitious project to salvage Wular, it has been extensively encroached upon by massive plantation of trees and unbridled extension of agricultural fields.
The major factors for deteriorating condition of wetlands are excessive habitat destruction, pollution and heavy human interference—affecting flora and fauna besides habitat of migratory birds.Despite being a Ramsar site, a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, no tangible measure has been taken to restore Wular and its associated wetlands which comprise an important habitat for migratory water birds within Central Asian Flyway.
Hygam, also a Ramsar Site, has also been extensively encroached upon and converted into land for paddy cultivation over the last two decades.
The wetland receives lakhs of migratory and resident bird species in winter and also supports mammals, amphibians, and fish. Spread on 802 hectares equivalent to 1,28,420 kanals, Hygam has been disgustingly facing the onslaught of destruction by way of encroachments. Bala Nalla flowing from Baba Reshi was the main source of siltation and nutrients of Hygam.
India is one of the contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention with the total no. Of 75 Ramsar sites (Wetlands Of International Importance). The UT of Jammu and Kashmir region has six Wetlands Of International Importance identified as Ramsar sites under the Ramsar convention viz Shallabugh, Haigam, Surinsar-Mansar, Hokersar, Wular and Tsomoriri (Ladakh). However despite Ramsar tag, the fate of these wetlands has seen no marked improvement. The famous Ramsar sites of valley like Hokersar, Wular, Haigam and Shallabugh have considerably reduced in size and are facing continuous threats mostly attributed to encroachments, dumping of solid waste and land use changes. Nearly 30 per cent of the natural wetlands in India have been lost in the last three decades mainly to illegal construction, unsustainable urbanization, agricultural expansion and pollution according to estimates by Wetlands International South Asia. This raises a query as to how helpful is Ramsar tag for wetland protection.
Wetlands are the most threatened ecosystems on planet Earth. Around 35 percent of the world’s wetlands were lost between 1970 and 2015 and the rate of decline continues to accelerate. In fact, we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. World Wetlands Day is the ideal time to enhance people’s understanding and awareness on wetland eco-services as awareness can play a vital role in conserving and managing the wetland ecosystems all over the world. Wetlands are indispensable for the countless benefits or ecosystem services that they provide humanity. They make up only 6% of the Earth’s surface. However 40% of the world’s flora and fauna live or breed in wetlands.
Peatlands which represent half of the Earth’s wetlands are one of the Nature’s most effective carbon sinks. Despite covering just 3% of Earth’s land surface they store twice as much carbon as the world’s forests. Freshwater Wetlands are used for cultivation of paddy, for basic water needs, for fishing, harvesting of natural products like lotus stem locally known as “Nadru” in Kashmir and “Kamal Kakdi” in India, Lotus seeds (Pambach/ Kamal beej), Water chestnut (Gaer/ Singhara) etc. The Kashmir Valley is home to a chain of wetlands covering an area of more than 7,000 hectares. Most of the wetlands in kashmir region like Wular, Dal, Hokersar, Mirgund, Shallabugh and Haigam fall under Central Asian Flyway Zone (CAF) and provide a transitory habitat to lakhs of birds migrating from Siberia, Japan, and other places during their annual flyway. Besides serving as a habitat for migratory birds, Wetlands are natural defenses against disasters. Swamps form a barrier to flooding from the coast, as they intercept high tides and distribute the force of incoming water over flood plains. Keeping in view their ecosystem services, wetlands need to be conserved for future generations.
