Download See Powerpoint Presentation!

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 Management
North 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
What are wetlands?
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)
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 $4.9
trillion/year
Values of wetlands
Ecosystem
Total area
(mil. Of ha)
Local value
($/ha/yr)
Global value
(Trillions $/yr)
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
46,985
30,220
33.3
Coastal
Total
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
Deepor
Beel
Control Department records the area as 54.89 sq km)
Ramsar sites in India
Deepor Beel Wetland, Assam, India
• South-west of Guwahati city,
Assam, India
• Only major storm water
storage basin for Guwahati
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
• Highly productive and diverse ecosystem.
• Biodiversity is not fully understood yet
• Need more surveys and research to
document complete biodiversity
Taxa
Number of species
Phytoplankton
18 genera
Zooplankton
21 genera
Amphibians
20
Fish
50
Reptiles
36
Birds
Mammals
219
21
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
• Asiatic Elephant
• Irriwaddy Squirrel
• Leopard
• Hoolock Gibbon
• Fishing Cat
Fish Diversity
• Striped Snakehead
• Clown knife fish
• Stripped Rasbora
• Spiny eel
50 species belonging to 19 families
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
Dicotyledons
Monocotyledons
Peridophytes
Total species
Composition
65.62%
31.47%
2.90%
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
Local community
• Depend on the wetland
and adjoining forests for
daily needs
• Fire wood– 68.42%
• Woods, bamboos- 16.02%
What’s happening?
 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
Impacts of settlements/ construction
Settlements/ construction
Attraction
of exotics
Predation/
replacement
of natives
Introduction
of exotics
Direct
Habitat loss
wastes
Local extinction
of species
Contamination
of ground water
Loss of
aesthetic value
Fish Kills
Eutrophication
Loss of direct
use value
Drinking water
shortage
Blockage of
natural water
flow
Floods
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 dumping
Garbage dumping
Attraction
of exotics
Predation/
replacement
of natives
Introduction
of exotics
Direct
Habitat loss
pollutants
Local extinction
of species
Contamination
of ground water
Loss of
aesthetic value
Fish Kills
Eutrophication
Loss of direct
use value
Drinking water
shortage
Blockage of
natural water
flow
Floods
Damage to lives
and property
Spread of
diseases
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/ foodnow 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)