WETLANDS OF INDIA

SUNDERBANS

Sunderbans

• Sunderban Wetland is located within the largest mangrove forest in the world.

• Encompasses hundreds of islands and a maze of rivers, rivulets and creeks.

• Lies on the delta of the River Ganges and Brahmaputra on the Bay of Bengal in India.

CHILIKA LAKE

Chilika lake

• Chilika is the largest brackish water lake in Asia and also the second largest lake in the world.

• Chilika is an integral part of the culture of coastal Odisha.

• It is one of the hotspot of biodiversity in the country, and some rare, vulnerable and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals inhabit in the lagoon for atleast part of their life cycle.

EAST CALCUTTA WETLAND

East Calcutta

• The East Calcutta Wetlands, are a complex of natural and human-made wetlands lying east of the city of Kolkata, of West Bengal in India.

• The wetlands cover 125 square kilometers and include salt marshes, agricultural fields, sewage farms and settling ponds.

• The wetlands are also used to treat Kolkata's sewage, and the nutrients contained in the waste water sustain fish farms and agriculture.

VEMBANAD KOL WETLAND

• The largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India.

• It is fed by 10 rivers and typical of large estuarine systems on the western coast.

• It is renowned for its clams and supporting the third largest waterfowl population in India during the winter months.

• It is located in the Kottayam district of Kerala.

Vembanad-Kol

HOKERA WETLAND

Hokera

• The Hokera is a wetland conservation area in Zainakote near Srinagar in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The wetland also acts as an absorption basin for floodwaters.

• It serves as an important staging ground for medium and long distance migratory shorebirds, geese, cranes, ducks and other species that breed in the northern latitudes of Siberia and Central Asia.

WATER

Improve water quality

Water

Reduce coastal storm damage.

Increases the water supply.

LIVELIHOOD

Several people depend on wetlands for their livelihood as well as for food and water.

Some wetlands also play a role in combating the impacts of climate change like floods and extreme weather events.

Livelihood

RAMSAR WETLAND SITES

RAMSAR SITES

• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.

• There are approximately 46 Ramsar wetland sites in India and over 2,400 around the world.

• It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources.

• The international convention which forms the basis for their identification is commonly referred to as the "Ramsar Convention" after the city in Iran where the convention was signed in 1971.