Towards Conservation of DEEPOR BEEL WETLAND

Prepared by ‘Friends of Deepor’ (Available internet resources and information sent by various individuals are used in this presentation and are thankfully acknowledged)

2007

ESC 740: Environmental ManagementNorth Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

What are wetlands?

• Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life

• They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where the land is covered by shallow water for at least six months of the year

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1971

Five major wetland types;

1. Marine (coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs)

2. Estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps)

3. Lacustrine (wetlands associated with lakes)

4. Riverine (wetlands along rivers and streams)

5. Palustrine (marshes, swamps and bogs)

• In addition, human-made wetlands (fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals)

What are wetlands?

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1971

What some people think about wetlands?

“ WETLANDS are WASTELANDS”

“Useless, disease-ridden places”

• Are these true?

• Do wetlands have any value?

• Do we need to conserve wetlands?

Values of wetlands

• Fish and wildlife habitats

• Natural water quality improvement

• Flood regulation

• Shoreline erosion protection

• Opportunities for recreation and aesthetic appreciation

• Natural products for our use at little or no cost

Values of wetlands

• The intact value of wetlands is way higher than intensive farming

• The global value of ecosystem services of wetlands $4.9 trillion/year

Values of wetlandsEcosystem Total area

(mil. Of ha)

Local value

($/ha/yr)

Global value

(Trillions $/yr)

Coastal 3102 4052 12.6

Open ocean 33,200 252 8.4

Wetlands 330

(0.7%)

14,785 (48.9%)

4.9

(14.7%)

Tropical forest 1900 2007 3.8

Lakes, rivers 200 8498 1.7

Grasslands 3898 232 0.9

Croplands 1400 92 0.1

Other forests 2955 302 0.9

Total 46,985 30,220 33.3

Costanza et al. 1997. Nature 387: 253-260

Deepor Beel Wetlands, Assam, India

• Palustrine wetland• A significant wetland in

Brahmaputra River drainage

• Consists of perennial, freshwater lake and associated pool systems

• Area: 40 sq km (Assam State Flood

Control Department records the area as 54.89 sq km)

Deepor Beel

Ramsar sites in India

• South-west of Guwahati city, Assam, India

• Only major storm water storage basin for Guwahati

Deepor Beel Wetland, Assam, India

Deepor Habitat Diversity

Recognition of Deepor Beel

• 1989: The government of Assam declared 414 ha as a bird sanctuary (Gazette notification # FRW.1/80/26 of 1972)

• 2002: Recognized as one of the most significant wetland systems in the world under Ramsar Convention (IRS 2002)

• 2004: Declared as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International

Biological Diversity

Taxa Number of species

Phytoplankton 18 genera

Zooplankton 21 genera

Amphibians 20

Fish 50

Reptiles 36

BirdsMammals

21921

• Highly productive and diverse ecosystem.

• Biodiversity is not fully understood yet

• Need more surveys and research to document complete biodiversity

Bird Paradise• A good breeding and feeding ground for birds

• 219 species recorded

• 70 migratory bird species

• Several globally threatened species

• One of the staging grounds on the migratory flyways for several bird species

Globally threatened birds

• Lesser adjutant stork• Greater adjutant stork• Spot-billed pelican• Baer’s pochard

• Pallas’s sea eagle• Slender-billed vulture

• Ferruginous Duck

Globally threatened mammals

• Irriwaddy Squirrel

• Asiatic Elephant

• Leopard

• Hoolock Gibbon • Fishing Cat

Fish Diversity

• Clown knife fish

• Striped Snakehead

• Stripped Rasbora

50 species belonging to 19 families

• Spiny eel

Herpetofaunal Diversity

• 20 Amphibians

• 12 Lizards

• 18 Snakes

• 6 Turtles/tortoise

Floral Diversity

• Vegetation: comprises of aquatic submerged and emergent vegetation and also some shrubs, climbers and trees

Taxa Composition

Dicotyledons 65.62%

Monocotyledons 31.47%

Peridophytes 2.90%

Total species 448

Local community• Wetlands supports a local

fishery/fisheries• Traditionally utilize the

wetland to collect:– fodder for domestic cattle– natural food, such as,

vegetables, flowers, aquatic seeds, fish, molluscs

• Commute to city through the wetland in country boats

• Depend on the wetland and adjoining forests for daily needs

• Fire wood– 68.42%

• Woods, bamboos- 16.02%

Local community

Illegal constructions/ settlements in and around (buffer zones) the wetland

Municipal garbage dumping Change in natural drainage system Habitat fragmentation: railway tract, new

roads through wetland Spread of invasive species Spread of Commerce: brick kilns, soil quarry

What’s happening?

Illegal land settlements/ constructions

What’s happening?

Impacts of settlements/ construction

Settlements/ construction

Blockage of natural water

flow

Contamination of ground water

Direct Habitat loss

wastes

FloodsPredation/ replacement

of nativesFish Kills

Eutrophication

Drinking water shortage

Local extinction of species

Introduction of exotics

Loss of aesthetic value

Loss of direct use value

Attraction of exotics

Damage to lives and property

Spread of diseases

NEGATIVELY IMPACT TO THE HUMAN LIVELYHOOD

What’s happening?Garbage dumping

Greater Adjutant storks attracted to garbage (Brighter side of the tragedy!)

Impacts of garbage dumpingGarbage dumping

Blockage of natural water

flow

Contamination of ground water

Direct Habitat loss

Attraction of exotics

pollutants

FloodsPredation/ replacement

of nativesFish Kills

EutrophicationDamage to lives

and property

Drinking water shortage

Local extinction of species

Introduction of exotics

Loss of aesthetic value

Spread of diseases

Loss of direct use value

NEGATIVELY IMPACT TO THE HUMAN LIVELYHOOD

Impact Summary Settlements/construction and Garbage dumping

• Habitat loss • Flood storage capacity reduction• Water contamination• Eutrophication• Predation/ replacement of local species by

invasive species• Risk of spreading new diseases• Loss of livelihood of local people• Loss of aesthetic value

One more issue!• Asiatic Elephant population

is fragmented in adjoining Rani-Garbhanga Reserved forests by the railway road

• Elephants regularly visit the wetland for water/ food- now stands interrupted

• Death of elephants

• Increased man-elephant conflicts in nearby villages

Our Expectations

1. Stop garbage dumping in Deepor Beel with immediate effect

2. Stop land settlement, construction, and land transformation by declaring the area as an environmentally sensitive area

3. Empower Deepor Beel Development Authority as the sole organization managing Deepor Beel

We believe:

“Deepor belongs to the indigenous people and their friends in nature!”

This presentation is designed by Sujan M. Henkanaththegedara (Sujan)

for ECS 740: Environmental Management (Fall 2007)