World Wetlands Day 2016

N Munal Meitei *

Joining of two rivers - Nambul and Oinam which flow towards Karong bridge and meet at Loktak in January 2016 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

2nd February is the World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. It is the only global treaty to focus on one single ecosystem, the wetlands. Manipur, surrounded by many hills with numerous wetlands but almost degraded to its tipping points, need to observe such a global red light day. Almost all the migratory birds of state are coming on these wetlands.

Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods is the theme for World Wetlands Day, 2016. This theme is selected to demonstrate the vital role of wetlands for the future of the humanity and specifically their relevance towards achieving the new Sustainable Development for all living beings. Livelihoods from cultivation, fishing, farming, travel, tourism, and water provision all depend on wetlands. They are the world's most productive environments, and is an ecotones, providing a transition between dry land and water bodies. They host a huge variety of life, provide natural sponges against river flooding, and store carbon dioxide to regulate the climate change.

Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of our wetlands in the state have disappeared during the last eight decades. Enabling people for a decent living and at the same time ensuring the conservation and safety of wetlands is our primary objectives of this day. In Manipur, according to the Remote Sensing Application Centre, there are 155 lakes and 2 ox-bow lakes. About 134 waterlogged marshy and swampy wetlands are also found in different districts.

Wetlands constitute about 2.37% of the geographical area of the state. Highest numbers of water logged areas are recorded in Imphal valley (69) followed by Thoubal (40) and Bishnupur districts (21). The numbers of wetlands floral species so far identified are 86 species in which 13 are clear water and 73 are semi aquatic.

The state has 110 species of amphibians and reptile amongst 580 species so far found in India. We also have counted 120 species of fishes while the country is having 1700 fish species. Such a faunal richness of our wetland represents 10.80% of whole country though the state constitutes only 0.7% of the whole country's geographical area.

It has also been observed from data that about 78% of the total area of the wetlands in the state are found infested with a number of weed species during the pre-monsoon season. During the post-monsoon season, 72% of the total area is covered with aquatic vegetation. The lakes in the state are comparatively old with their own distinct characteristic life-span, topographic, physiographic as well as hydrologic features.

These features have been closely related to the evolving geo-physical features of the state. In the state, there were about 500 lakes in the beginning of the 20th century. They have now been reduced fast in the past few years and as a result, hardly 55 lakes were found existing in the state. Loktak Lake is the most important fresh water lake.

Other important existing but degraded lakes are kharungphat, Khoidumpat, Pumlenpat, Lokoipat, Sanapat, Yaralpat, Poiroupat, Ikopat, Waithoupat, Ngakrapat and Loushipat. These lakes remain threatened due to artificial eutrophication and large scale encroachment for cultivation and fish farming. Since the healthiness of our wetlands is so much challenged, his year the number of migratory birds coming to the state have drastically been reduced. It is not a good sign for our ecosystem.

The other causes of wetlands loss and degradation in the state are soil erosion due to large scale deforestation in the catchment areas followed by the change in the land use pattern of agriculture and fish farming inside the wetlands. Development activities such as roads and canals inside the wetlands are also another cause. And this is all made worse by the leakage into our wetlands with an excessive deposition of plastic and other waste materials and also water being diverted to make dams, ponds, channels and canals.

Why should we take care of Wetlands? Latest research indicates that over 64% of the world's wetlands have been destroyed since 1900. This rapid decline means that access to fresh water is worsening for almost two billion people worldwide, while flood control, disaster risk reduction, carbon storage and traditional wetland livelihoods are all suffering and our futures with them. Wetlands are bursting with biodiversity.

Wetlands are termed as the cradle for biodiversity. These are the home to more than 100,000 known freshwater species alone, and that number is growing every year. But now, in addition to loss of water and other wetlands services, the richness of wildlife and our biodiversity - has also been affected. Populations of freshwater species have declined by 76% in the last forty years, according to WWF's Living Planet Index.

Wetlands provide the fresh water for every one of us and the essential ingredient for all development. Every human needs 20-50 litres of water a day for basic drinking, cooking and cleaning. Wetlands provide that water. Wetlands ensure fresh water for all of us. Less than 3 % of the world's water is fresh, and most of that is frozen.

Wetlands provide our water needs and help replenish the groundwater aquifers that are an important source of fresh water for humanity. Wetlands purify and filter harmful waste from water. Some of the pollutants from pesticides, industry and mining, including heavy metals and toxins are absorbed by wetland sediments, plants and marine life. Wetlands guarantee our food supply.

Rice, grown in wetland paddies, is the staple diet of nearly three billion people, and accounts for 20% of the world's nutritional intake. Humans consume 19kg of fish each year on average. Wetland stimulates plant recruitment from diverse seed bank and increase productivity by mobilizing nutrients.

Wetlands act as nature's shock absorbers. Wetlands within river basins act as natural sponges, absorbing rainfall, creating wide surface pools and reduce the impact of flooding in rivers. The same storage capacity also safeguards against drought. Wetlands help fight climate change. Peatlands alone store more than twice as much carbon as all the forests in the world. Timber for housing, vegetable oil, medicinal plants, animal fodder, and stems and leaves for weaving also come from well managed wetlands.

In the cultural legacy, wetlands are also part of our emotional history. We may remember the tied knot between the Khamba and Thoibi and the Loktak lake. The role of forests in our wetlands The role of forests to our wetland is vital for all living being. The freshwater availability and its quality on a global scale depend on our forests. It's simple: the health of our wetlands, whether forested or not, is linked to the health of forests in our catchments.

Losing and degrading forests means losing and degrading wetlands. We cannot manage wetland without forests, whether terrestrial forests or forested wetlands, has the critical role – for water, for food, for livelihoods, for all living beings. Groundwater replenishment The surface water which is the water visibly seen in wetland systems only represents a portion of the overall water cycle which also includes atmospheric water and groundwater.

Wetland systems are directly linked to groundwater and a crucial regulator of both the quantity and quality of water found below the ground. Wetland systems that are made of permeable sediments like limestone or occur in areas with highly variable and fluctuating water tables especially have a role in groundwater replenishment or water recharge.

Sediments that are porous allow water to filter down through the soil and overlying rock into aquifers which are the source of 95% of the world's drinking water. Wetlands can also act as recharge areas when the surrounding water table is low and as a discharge zone when it is too high. Our pledge can be as simple as taking shorter showers to save water, or making sure about taking reusable bags to the market places, or getting more practically involved by helping to organise a clean-up of our local wetlands.

We need also to educate the younger generation about the importance of wetlands and the wetland conservation. The dreams of Manipur for becoming a world tourism hot spot will come to a reality only when we conserve our hills, forests, wildlife and the wetlands. So join us this year, and take up the challenge to help and secure for the wetlands .