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Protect the wetlands

As all countries prepare to celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2 on the theme ‘Upstream — Downstream, wetlands connect us all,’ there is great expectation that India will get serious about saving its vanishing water bodies. In just a single decade from 1991, an estimated 38 per cent of freshwater wetlands have been lost. If further losses are to be prevented, the central government must quickly put in place a protection framework. India has most wetland types ranging from Himalayan lakes, riverine flood plains, and mangroves to estuaries and coastal backwaters. These national assets provide a range of services, notably livelihood support, water security, flood prevention, and sustenance of biodiversity. Yet they remain badly neglected. In a move forward, the Ministry of Environment and Forests published in July 2008 a draft notification on a Regulatory Framework for Conservation of Wetlands. Critical to this framework are the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2008. Several constructive suggestions have come in on the proposed rules. Kerala’s State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and research bodies have sought legal support for identification and protection of wetlands of all sizes, and their judicious use by local communities. Clear, actionable rules are vital to stop the life-sapping influx of sewage, industrial waste, pesticides, building debris, and urban solid waste into these fragile sites.

Although India is party to the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, it does not have strong domestic laws other than those governing sanctuaries and national parks. The Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History reported four years ago that close to 200 sites deserve to be listed under the Convention, among 655 notable national sites. Disappointingly, the national Ramsar site tally stands at a mere 25. Even the listed sites do not enjoy full safeguards. A case in point is Assam’s famed Deepor Beel, which suffers municipal solid waste dumping from Guwahati. Hope for wetlands now hinges on the availability of legal provisions, and the involvement of scientists, state governments, local bodies, and communities in conservation. The proposed rules rightly seek to prohibit the conversion of wetlands to other use, reclamation, and the dumping of waste but they do fall short in some respects. The protection of wetlands also demands making polluters, including government departments, liable for penalties without exception. The time to act is now.

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