On the Occasion of World Wetlands Day, observed annually on February 2, Environment Conservation Group, a city-based NGO has called for protecting the wetlands in the city. The theme for this year is ‘Wetlands for our future’.
In a statement issued here, R. Mohammed Saleem, president of the group, said that the wetlands of Coimbatore were created centuries ago for mitigation of flood situations and agriculture.
Coimbatore, with just one per cent, has the least percentage of geographical area under wetland with the average area in Tamil Nadu being seven per cent. Yet, he claims, the wetlands are often viewed as wastelands and used as a dumping ground for debris, industrial and medical wastes besides poultry waste.
Wetlands support a number of plant and animal species including birds, butterflies, dragonflies and reptiles. Thousands of migratory birds flock to wetlands in the city during winter migration. Birds as far as Europe and Russia spend their winter in the lakes of Coimbatore.
More than 150 species of birds can be spotted in and around our wetlands.
