SAVE OUR WETLANDS – SAVE OUR FUTURE

 

When we were in school in the seventies Lucknow had many water bodies and wetlands. The entire area of what is Gomtinagar today had innumerable ponds, swamps and marshes. Today they all have disappeared except one or two. There are around 23 wetlands in and around Lucknow out of which Nawabganj bird sanctuary and Ekana wetland are protected sites while others are unprotected areas. These wetlands cover an area of approx.4200 hectare and are important waterfowl habitats of Lucknow. In the seventies we could get water at 30 feet in Mahanagar but today we have to go down to 300 feet for the water table. Wetlands are threatened all over the country and Lucknow is no exception.

What are wetlands?

Wetlands are areas that are inundated with water permanently or seasonally. They occur where water meets land. They are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which, at low tides, does not exceed six meters. The wetlands may include riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six meters at low tide lying within the wetlands.

The biological composition of wetlands, from the fish that live there to the migrating water-birds that visit, depends on the ways water moves within a wetland. Wetlands include mangroves, peat lands and marshes, lakes, deltas, floodplains and flooded forests, rice-fields, and even coral reefs. Wetlands exist in every country and in every climatic zone, from the polar regions to the tropics, and from high altitudes to dry regions. They are classified as high altitude (with low temperature and ice formation), brackish (partly saline) and freshwater with specific ecologies. Rivers are not considered as wetland as their ecology is different.

India has a diversity of wetlands ranging from the floodplains of rivers like Ganga and Brahmaputra to the high altitude wetlands of the Himalayas, lagoons and mangrove marshes on the coastline and reefs in marine environments, among others. Reservoirs, lakes, ponds, canals, marshes, estuaries, creeks, tanks, minor irrigation tanks, temple tanks, open wells, were all part of it. They could be a mixture of natural, semi-natural, and man-made bodies. 

 

Why are wetlands important?

Wetlands ecosystems are vital parts of hydro-logical cycle, highly productive, support rich biodiversity and provide a wide range of ecosystem services such as water storage, water purification, flood mitigation, storm buffers, erosion control, aquifer recharge, micro-climate regulation, aesthetic enhancement of landscapes while simultaneously supporting many significant recreational, social and cultural activities.

Several people depend on wetlands for their livelihood as well as for food and water. They not only provide water for humans and cattle but also meet local irrigation needs. Some wetlands also play a role in combating the impacts of climate change like floods and extreme weather events. Wetlands are also among the earth’s top carbon stores and their conservation can help in reducing carbon emissions. Wetlands play important roles such as protecting water quality; moderating the impact of flooding; providing storage for carbon, which helps reduce the impact of climate change.

Wetlands play a key role in the hydro-logical cycle and flood control, water supply. More importantly, they recharge the groundwater and ensure the availability of water in dry season. These are the areas that keep the terrain moist and wet. They reduce the impact of water during floods and provide water during dry periods, both of which are a familiar story in many parts of India today. Wetlands thus play an essential role in climate change adaptation, as they can increase a region’s ability to deal with extreme weather events. They also provide habitat for large number of biota, both plants and animals including both local and migrating water-birds.

Wetlands also provide an ecosystem that prevent land degradation and desertification. Mangroves protect coastlines and filter pollutants. That's why wetland are referred to as kidneys of the ecosystem. Wetlands also support millions of migratory birds from colder regions of the world in summers. They also have significant cultural, social, food and spiritual value for Indigenous Peoples.

 

Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention is a convention on wetlands that was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The negotiations for the convention started in the 1960s by the different countries and NGOs for the protection of wetlands and their resources. Finally, it came into force in 1975. By October 2020, there were 171 contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention.  By June 2021, there were 2422 wetlands in the list of wetlands of international importance the world over. In India, which is a party to this convention, currently, 75 wetlands, with a surface area of over a million hectares are designated as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. A total of 231,195 wetlands have been mapped in the country. The total wetland area estimated is 15.26 million hectares that is around 4.63 percent of the geographical area of our country. India's prominent wetlands include Chilika lake areas (Odisha), Wular lake (J&K), Renuka (Himachal Pradesh), Sambhar Lake (Rajasthan), Deepor Beel (Assam) etc.

Ramsar Convention is actually an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Ramsar listing has no legal sanction under any Indian law and while it is a matter of prestige for a wetland to be listed, the listing does not, ipso facto, help in its protection for restoration. Then again 75 out of a total of 231,195 wetlands being in the Ramsar listing is a minuscule number.

 

Why are wetlands threatened?

The world has lost around 87 percent of natural wetlands since the 1700s and 35 percent have disappeared since the 1970s. India has lost nearly one-third of her natural wetlands to urbanization, agricultural expansion and pollution over the last four decades.  It is estimated that wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests and their rate of disappearance is increasing.

Wetlands are threatened by reclamation and degradation through drainage and landfill, pollution (discharge of domestic and industrial effluents, disposal of solid wastes), hydrological alteration (water withdrawal and changes in inflow and outflow), over-exploitation of natural resources resulting in loss of biodiversity and disruption in ecosystem services provided by wetlands.

 

What are we doing to protect wetlands?

A brief and correct answer would be ‘very little’. While there are some remarkable stories of wetland protection by individuals and self help groups the government has woken up to the problem of disappearing wetlands rather late.

All over the country there are stories of individuals and communities protecting their local wetlands – a father-daughter duo cleaning up Dal lake in Kashmir, an old man in a village in Karnataka digging ponds for wild animals, citizens in Mumbai and Noida protecting their urban wetlands from construction activities and a women’s group in a coastal Maharashtra district protecting their mangroves through ecotourism initiatives. For most of these people, it is passion that drives their individual initiatives and they are examples of what common citizens can do to protect these ecosystems.

The central government provides assistance to state governments for implementation of management plans for prioritized wetlands. The National Wetlands Conservation Programme has been in operation since 1986. Since 2013, the programme is known as National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems.

National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) is a single conservation programme for both wetlands and lakes. It is a centrally sponsored scheme, currently being implemented by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). It was formulated in 2015 by merging of the National Lake Conservation Plan and the National Wetlands Conservation Programme. Today the Ministry of Jal Shakti operates a scheme for Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies.

 

Plan for future

We should first notify all the remaining wetlands which are not listed under Ramsar convention under the Wetland Rules 2017, created under Environment Protection Act,1986 and prepare a plan to manage them and implement them with missionary zeal. All existing wetlands should be made out of bounds from land grabbers and punitive action for violation of the rules should be exemplary.

Urbanization must be planned taking existing wetlands into consideration. Not only the wetland itself but its flood planes or catchment areas too should be protected as wetlands are not static but dynamic and they expand in monsoons. Ecological restoration practices cannot be compromised any further in the name of urbanization.

 

 

DO YOU SUFFER FROM A READER'S BLOCK?

 

We have all heard about the ‘Writer’s block’ or ‘the blank screen syndrome’ as most of us have long stopped writing with pen on a paper but use the computer instead. This is that dreaded feeling at the start of every new written project, whether it is an essay or a novel. But have you heard about the ‘Reader’s Block’? How many times have you added “Read More“ to your New Year’s resolutions? How many times have you wondered you were such an avid reader once upon a time but where your reading skills have gone? Stuart Jeffries, a journalist and author who is widely credited with coining the phrase “reader’s block” in one of his 2008 pieces, defines it as a problem that readers face as a result of the pressure they feel to read critically acclaimed or canonical novels, even if they don’t enjoy them.

                                

Perhaps, you had a read-before-bed habit that’s now gone in favor of the next effortless streaming service. You have not been to a library for God knows how many years! There are bookshelves at home, stacked with books, crying for your attention. You promise yourself to come back to then every time you wipe the dust off them. So have you wondered how can you plan to get back your reading habit?  Here are my tried-and-true tips to help you get back a sustainable reading habit.

 

 

But first, let me tell you what not to do. If you’re frustrated with yourself, asking why you even have readers block, take a good hard look at your life. It’s filled with stimulation! Hence, it’s only natural that you find it challenging to wind down and clear your mind to be able to read anything. There is no need to force yourself to finish a book you don’t like. Allow yourself a reading hiatus if it feels like a chore or doesn't excite you anymore. Now, let’s see what you can do to get excited about reading again.

 

Are you short on time? All of us are and you are not alone. Here are some quick tips: recommendations? https://www.literature-map.com/ is a search engine that allows you to look up certain authors and receive dozens of authors of the same genre or writing style. If you don’t own a lot of books or a library membership this is a good place to start. You can subscribe to the Kindle store on amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Store/ and choose whatever title interests you. While I have nothing against E-books I love the smell of a paperback and the act of flipping the pages is simply priceless!

 

 

Follow the rule of 50. If a book is challenging and you still want to finish it, don’t form an opinion until you’ve reached page 50. Some books just take a little while to take off. Giving them the 50-page grace is all they need to successfully pull you in.

 

Can’t fit reading into your schedule? Why try squeezing it in the middle of your day when you can easily do it before bed when the busy day is over? Reading before bed will be all the more effortless if there are no screens in your bedroom, including your phone. That way, you won’t have to exert willpower to resist the temptation of the screen – it simply won’t be there to tempt you.

 

Buy a new book that people are talking about. Head to the bookstore and challenge yourself to try and buy just one book, and soon, you'll discover you want to read them all. They have this ability of transporting you to the author’s world, which may have no resemblance with your’s.

 

Be a member of an online Bibliophile club. This is a very helpful move as you will come to know a lot about new publications. You will find people whose reading taste matches that of your own and they will guide you to the correct choice of books. Treading is a very addictive habit and soon you will find everything interesting from poetry to garbage.

 

Are you zoning out while reading?  If a worried mind is stopping you from concentrating, pick up a new meditation habit. This does not have to be the classic silent seated meditation. You see, our mind deals with all sorts of stimulation that has to be processed, but we rarely get the chance to get in touch with ourselves to do that. That’s why we tend to zone out when our mind allows it – while driving, doing the dishes, taking a shower, or reading. Your meditation can be a short daily walk outside, journaling your feelings and thoughts, or having a 10-minute dance party in your living room. These activities cleanse your mind, allowing you to be less preoccupied while reading.

 

You don’t know where to start.  Re-reading your favorite book is a no-brainer. You probably already have a title or two popping up in your mind. Most of the time, the fact that keeps us from reading is the casual stress of daily life. The familiarity of a well-known book will offer comfort during stressful periods. If you pick a favorite from when you were younger, it will also be a pleasant nostalgia trip. Even Ramayana and Mahabharata if you now pick up and read you will explore a very new perspective, which you might have missed as a child!

 

Do you always feel like you’re not reading enough? Where there’s a will, there is a way, but this goal is far too vague to be tangible. Are you looking to spend more time reading? Read more self-help books? Are you aiming at specifically catching up on the classics, or is there a list of recommendations you’ve been planning to get to? The more specific your reading goal is, the easier it will be to achieve it. When setting up your goal, be realistic. I, for one, could not pick up any daily habit for the life of me. If you’re anything like me, an achievable goal would be to read for 30 minutes every day if possible. Forcing yourself to read daily is setting yourself up for disappointment. Start small and grow gradually.

 

Do you find ever book too long? If you feel your attention span is getting shorter, go for a briefer read. Collections of short stories can be easily found online. Classics, like “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, or “Fear” by Stefan Zweig, Detective stories of Felu-da by Satyajit Roy might help you finally shift from first to second gear in your reading project.

 

Do you find every book too boring? If you’ve been let down by a few books in a row, no issues; try a new genre. Thrillers are sure to pull you in, so they’re a good starting point. Try Perry Mason or Agatha Christi. If you enjoy traveling, try books by authors of different nationalities; they will give a glimpse of another culture. I’ve had the time of my life traveling to Portugal while reading “Blood-Drenched Beard” by Daniel Galera, or traveling to Italy and reading "Trick” by Domenico Stranone. 

 

Try an audio-book. Many traditionalists are of the opinion that audio-books don’t really count as “reading,” but many researchers would disagree. There is no difference in reading comprehension between those who had listened to an audio-book and those who had used an e-reader. It may seem counterintuitive, but audio-books can also help beat reader’s block. This is because they can help reignite your passion for learning and consuming stories at a time when you’re having difficulty reading. Try listening to the audio-book while you rest during a break, clean your house, or work out. You’ll feel extra accomplished for having done two productive things at once, and it may provide the momentum you need to get back into reading.

 

Do you have a digital dopamine addiction problem? Are social media and television taking up all your spare time? Books will find it very difficult to compete just as tea is no substitute to cocaine! Binging on the television or reading bots generated social media posts make your mind a passive receiver, whereas books encourage you to imagine the author’s world and be with his characters in their life and time! There is no comparison – one media is insulting your intelligence while the other is stimulating it.

 

 

 

Keeping up with any new habit may be a bit challenging. Find a community to help you be consistent. It doesn’t have to be a book club; it can also be subscribing to a reading blog, reading paper book reviews, or even following a book-review page on social media. Asking a close friend to lend you the last book they read is a surefire way to get back on the reading horse.

 

Books are a store-house of knowledge. They are a man’s best friend, often working as his philosopher and guide. Good books provide an enjoyable company to their readers. They enhance one’s learning curve and broaden the perspective towards life. Books often provide a person with the ability to judge between right and wrong and the courage to follow the righteous path. Books indeed provide a pleasurable company and prove to be a trustworthy, lifelong companion. They don’t question us, make us forget our troubles, and offer us to live many different lives and enable us to empathise with others. They are truly our best friend!