India’s ecological diversity is unparalleled. But today, it is being destroyed at an alarming rate. One such ecosystems that has been ravaged in recent times is the wetland.
Wetlands are mostly covered with water permanently or sometimes, after the rains. They include diverse habitats like lakes, swamps, floodplains and salt marshes.
They support an incredible diversity of birdlife ranging from painted storks, purple moorhens and herons. Many decades ago, numerous patches of wetlands were present around towns and villages across India. But today, one-third of India’s wetlands has already been wiped out or severely degraded because of habitat destruction and encroachments. Most of the landfills that we see around cities and towns would have been thriving wetlands once upon a time.
This is an alarming scenario because wetlands perform an important role by providing us ecological security. They perform extraordinary functions like recharging ground water, acting as a drain during floods, recycling nutrients and purifying water.
When protected and managed properly, these wetlands can bounce back to life like the Chilika Lake in Odisha.
It is the second largest brackish water lagoon in the world and is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian sub-continent.
Apart from the lakhs of birds that come during winter, Chilika also supports around a lakh and fifty thousand fishermen who are dependent on the lake for their livelihoods. It is also one of the last holds of the endangered Irrawady Dolphins.
The reason for such diversity is the influence of salt water that comes from the Bay of Bengal and the freshwater that comes from numerous river channels and rivers like the Mahanadi.
This thriving lake was dying during the late 1990s. The seawater inflow reduced to a trickle as the sea inlets became choked with silt.
The resulting increase in freshwater altered the lake’s ecosystem. Commercial aquaculture and prawn cultivation caused a drastic decline in the fish and bird populations of the lake.
Meticulous research and immediate conservation measures implemented by the Odisha government brought the lake back to life. A new sea mouth was opened to allow constant inflow of seawater. Sustainable monitoring of the lake increased the fish populations and migratory birds started to come back in large numbers.
Today Chilika Lake is one of the few thriving wetland ecosystems in our country and it remains as an inspiring success story for conserving wetlands. We must ensure that the ecosystems that support our livelihoods do not get destroyed in the name of economic progress.
(The author is an award-winning nature photographer and co-founder of the Youth for Conservation. In this monthly column he talks about his passion for nature, photography and conservation.)
