Did you know – about 95% of the worlds fresh water comes from underground sources and as many as 100,000 different species depend on wetlands for their survival? So how important wetlands can be?
What are Wetlands?
Wetlands are exactly how they sound: land covered by shallow waters. They occurs where water meets land, including ponds, lakes, reservoirs, creeks, mangroves and other water bodies. They exist in every country and in every climatic zone, from polar regions to the tropics, and from high altitudes to dry regions. However, they do all have one thing in common – they play an important role in the lives of humans and animals and prevents Earths rapid climatic change. In fact, they are nature’s purifier and helps bridge the gap between green and grey infrastructure in urban cities and makes our surroundings livable.
Sadly, over the years, about 50% of the worlds wetlands have been lost or destroyed by humans. Thus, in order to save and protect the remaining wetlands, The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was adopted in Ramsar, Iran on 2nd February, 1971. Since then the 2nd of February is celebrated as the world wetlands day, to create social awareness about the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. This year, the theme Wetlands and Climate Change aims to raise awareness about how wetlands can help prevent rapid climatic changes.
Thanks to Ramsar Convention, more than 5% of the earths surface today is covered with wetlands, with 56% thriving in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. India alone is home to 26 such sites.
In order to create further awareness and add momentum to this movement, heres a list of major wetlands in India, identified under Ramsar Convention:
Vembanad Wetland, Kerala
Vembanad Wetland (Kerala): The Vembanad Kol is the longest lake in India and the largest in Kerala. Home to more than 20,000 waterfowls and an ideal habitat for shrimps, Vembanad Kol is a famous tourist spot.
Chilika Wetland (Odisha): Brackish water lagoon, Chilika Lake is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the 2nd largest lagoon in the world. Its ecosystem is the largest home for Irrawaddy dolphin and migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent.
Bhoj Wetland (Bhopal): The Bhoj Wetland consist of two lakes – Bhojtal and Lower Lake, in the city of Bhopal. These lakes are home to a diverse flora, fauna and many remote species.
Ashtamudi Wetland (Kerala): Ashtamudi Lake is the second largest and deepest wetland ecosystem in Kerala. With a palm shaped extensive water body and eight prominent arms, the Ashtamudi lake is situated near the Vembanad Lake.
Kolleru Lake (Andhra Pradesh): Kolleru Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in India which is located between the Krishna and Godavari river delta in Andhra Pradesh. Home to a large species of wetland birds, the lake is also a common tourist spot.
Deepor Beel (Assam): Also spelled as Dipor Bil, this is a permanent freshwater lake and one of the largest beels (a local word for lake) in the Brahmaputra valley of lower Assam. Surrounded by steep highlands on the northern and southern sides one gets to see varieties of migratory birds, wild animals and aquatic birds.
Loktak Lake, Manipur
Loktak Lake (Manipur): It is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India and is the last natural home of the endangered Sangai deer in India. The lake is also popularly known as The Floating Lake due to the floating phumdis. Near the lake is the Keibul Lamjao National Park, which acts as a major tourist attraction. Both the lake and the park play an important role in the economy of Manipur.
Sambhar Salt Lake (Rajasthan): Sambhar Salt Lake is the largest inland salt lake in India, surrounded by the Aravali hills on all sides. The lake contributes significantly to the countrys salt production and is one of the best places to spot pink flamingos and other migratory birds.
While wetland ecosystems hold an important part of the worlds biodiversity, they are rapidly disappearing due to various reasons. Some of the major threats are industrial and agricultural activities, along with tourism, dams, pollution and other human activities. Without these suitable wetland habitats, many species would soon be homeless and probably extinct! Its time we take some action and work to conserve and restore these amazing ecosystems, which help us prepare for and potentially fight the adverse effects of climate change.
Here are a few things that we can do to save these beautiful wetlands :
So, take a step to protect these eco worries and help make the planet a better place!
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Comments
Srabani biswas
February 2, 2019
Thanks for such a valuable information
Suthar dixit
February 2, 2019
very nice
i appericiate
SSS SASANK
February 2, 2019
Thank you Tanaya Goswami (The Author)
for giving us such nice information!
Aakash Singh
February 2, 2019
Learned a new thing …
Samiksha Kahali
February 2, 2019
Thanks byjus for this valuable information and I will try to help our beautiful wetlands clean ??
SIDHARTH SUNIL
February 2, 2019
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Shristi
February 2, 2019
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February 2, 2019
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February 2, 2019
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February 2, 2019
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Anushka Tiwari
February 2, 2019
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Raniya Jaleel
February 2, 2019
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Arya Tiwari
February 2, 2019
Thanks for giving this valuable lesson
Divyanshu
February 2, 2019
Thank you Byju’s team for creating awareness in us ??. I will try to work on it and contribute in the nature’s development. ??
Dushyanth Chowdary Kolli
February 2, 2019
Thanks Byjus I don’t know that our wetlands are helping us out this much. I will try my best to preserve our wetlands
Pratisa kar
February 2, 2019
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Naren
February 2, 2019
Came to know about the importance and benefits of wetlands. Thanks Byjus..
Anishka Nayak
February 2, 2019
Thank you byjus for these valuable information and
I will also rise my hands to take care
of the wetlands.
KC Raina
February 2, 2019
These are valuable informations which encourage everyone to maintain our eco-system.
Thanks Byjus.
Akanksha
February 2, 2019
Thank you byju’s for such a beautiful information.
I will try to maintain the wetlands around our area.
Amritesh Banerjee
February 2, 2019
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Shakthi deepti S.S
February 2, 2019
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Riteeka Dev
February 2, 2019
Happy World Wetland Day to Byju’s
Araman Parida
February 3, 2019
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Anushka Singh
February 3, 2019
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Aryan Sharma
February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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Albin Vincent
February 3, 2019
Thank you team byjus for for this valuable information I will try my best to save the wetlands
Suyash Kumar
February 3, 2019
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Lisha
February 3, 2019
The information you provided about wet land has been very helpful
SHREYA S
February 3, 2019
THANK YOU BYJU’S AND TANAYA GOSWAMI 4 THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION….
SHREYA S
February 3, 2019
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lakshmi
February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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February 3, 2019
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Aparna Mishra
February 3, 2019
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Rajeswari
February 3, 2019
Thank you for the information byjus and we will keep clean wetland
Devishree
February 3, 2019
Nice article ?
Neelanj
February 4, 2019
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February 4, 2019
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February 4, 2019
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Jigneshsinh Vaghela
February 4, 2019
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Aaditya Raj Bhatia
February 4, 2019
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February 4, 2019
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Bhuvaneshwari
February 4, 2019
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February 5, 2019
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February 5, 2019
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February 5, 2019
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February 5, 2019
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February 5, 2019
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Samarth daud
February 5, 2019
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Vikram
February 5, 2019
Hi Tanya,
Its 2nd Feb 1971 not 1991, india became part of convention in 1982. Please correct the info.
Aditya
February 6, 2019
Happy wetland day
Aditya
February 6, 2019
Happy wet land day
Divya Dharshini
February 7, 2019
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Ameen Mehta
February 8, 2019
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M.s.venki
February 10, 2019
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February 11, 2019
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February 12, 2019
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February 14, 2019
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February 14, 2019
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