Career choice in wetlands

Ranjan K Baruah *

We should be aware that about 1 in 8 people make their livelihoods from wetlands in ways that also deliver food, water supplies, transport and leisure. The fact is that wetland landscapes positively impact mental wellbeing and wetlands safeguard the 60% of humanity along coastlines against storm surges, hurricanes and tsunamis.

There are currently over 2,500 Ramsar Sites around the world and they cover over 2.5 million square kilometers, an area larger than Mexico. The network of Ramsar Sites includes coastal and inland wetlands of all types. Wetlands are ecosystems, in which water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life.

A broad definition of wetlands includes freshwater and marine and coastal ecosystems, such as all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peat lands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fishponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and saltpans.

Wetlands cover only around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, 40 percent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism and for jobs. Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems and for our climate, providing essential ecosystem services, such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification.

Wetlands are among the ecosystems with the highest rates of decline, loss and degradation. Indicators of current negative trends in global biodiversity and ecosystem functions are projected to continue in response to direct and indirect drivers, such as rapid human population growth, unsustainable production and consumption and associated technological development, as well as the adverse impacts of climate change.

Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just 50 years — since 1970 — 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost. Human activities that lead to loss of wetlands include drainage and infilling for agriculture and construction, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources, invasive species and climate change.

On 30 August 2021, the United Nation General Assembly proclaimed 2 February as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness of the urgency of reversing the accelerating loss of wetlands and to promote their conservation and restoration. The day marks the date of the adoption of the "Convention on Wetlands of International Importance" held in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

One may choose to select wetland as their career options. A career in wetlands can involve work as a wetland scientist, designer, ecologist, ornithologist, livelihood experts related to wetland, ichthyology, etc. Wetland scientists study wetlands and the organisms that live in them, research how wetlands impact the environment and human health and contribute to the conservation of wetlands.

Wetland designers create new wetlands to improve water quality and provide technical direction to engineers and computer-aided designers and work with biologists, urban planners, and water engineers.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is a government institute that works on wetland conservation and management. The WII is an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Scholarships Update:

The Intuit Rise Girl Child Education Program 2024-25, an initiative of Intuit India, aims to empower underprivileged girl students from Class 8 to graduation through comprehensive educational support, paving the way for a brighter future.

Female students with an annual family income of less than INR 3.5 lakh are eligible to apply. The program will support the selected scholars throughout their academic journey until graduation. Girl students from Class 8 to graduation across India who are enrolled and continuing their education are eligible. Aspirants may apply on or before 16th February.