Ramsar Convention

Types of Wetlands

The most comprehensive definition of the wetland is provided by the Ramsar Convention of 1971. Its broad definition encompasses:...

Wetland Services

Wetlands, which are among the most productive ecosystems, provide supporting, regulating, provisioning, and cultural services, hence contributing to human well-being. These are discussed below:...

Degradation of Wetlands

Globally, about 50% of the wetlands have ceased to exist as a result of human actions. While the temperate region was mostly responsible for their disappearance till the 1950s since then tropical countries have accelerated the pace of wetland conversion into alternate land uses like dams construction, agriculture, and urbanization. India also lost over 30% of wetlands over the last three decades. While Chennai lost about 90%, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and many other large cities have lost more than 50% of wetlands....

Ramsar Convention

The swift decline of wetlands is causing the loss of services, which directly impacts human well-being. This prompted some countries and NGOs to start discussing ways to conserve wetlands globally. The negotiations started in the 1960s and 18 nations agreed to the text of the Ramsar Convention in the Ramsar Conference held in 1971. The Convention came into force in 1975 and Australia became the first country to accede to the convention. This is the only treaty exclusively for a particular ecosystem. Originally focusing on the water birds, the convention has evolved it’s scope to cover all aspects of wetland conservation....

Wise Use Principle

One of the pillars, the wise use of wetlands is simply sustainable use of wetlands using ecosystem approach. The wise use principle appreciates the fact that ecosystem services of the wetlands are to be utilized for human well-being and land-use change for development is bound to happen, but such utilization should be subjected to nondisturbance of ecological character of the wetland (combination of components, processes, and services) and within the limits of sustainable development. In other words, a trade-off is made between the loss of ecosystem services due to degradation of wetlands, and development and economic gain, while ensuring that degradation of wetlands is not pushed beyond their regeneration capacity....

India and Wise Use Policy

Based on the above guidelines, India has taken a number of steps in the direction of conserving wetlands. Some of them are:...

Conclusion

Wetlands are important to the well-being of humans as they provide several services. As the importance of wetlands is dawning on to the general public, conservation and restoration efforts have picked up. The lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami have generated interest in restoring lost mangroves swamps and estuarine ecosystems. The extreme floods in major cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Chennai in recent years have made it crystal clear that wetland ecosystems are not to be exploited to the levels which prove to be harmful to humans themselves....