Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Key phrases:  Global Nature Fund, Montreux Record, Ramsar Convention, Buckingham Canal, temporal salinity gradient, biodiversity hotspot, avian paradise, mangrove ecosystem, Chilika Development Authority,ecotourism development, community participation, integrated watershed management, hydrological monitoring

Why in News ?

• The Global Nature Fund, an organisation based in Germany, again reiterates to declare Pulicat Lake a “threatened lake” under Ramsar Convention.
• However, there is still no proposal from the government to get the lake added to the list in the Montreux Record.
• Owing to the ecological threats the lake is facing, many environmental activists also argued for the lake to be included in the Montreux Record.

About Pulicat Lake

• Pulicat Lake is a unique waterbody that is situated along the east coast of India and sprawls across Andhra Pradesh (84%) and Tamil Nadu.
• Its water spread area is 720 square kilometres during the monsoon. The lake is about 60 km in length, and its breadth varies from 200 metres to 17.5 km.
• Buckingham Canal traverses in a north to the south direction at the lake’s eastern edge, along Sriharikota Island.
• The problem of siltation and the advent of the railway along the coast after the canal was constructed gradually saw it fall into disuse.

RAMSAR CONVENTION

• In 1971, a significant United Nations Convention On Wetlands took place in Ramsar, Iran.
• The Ramsar Convention, as it is widely known, is an international environmental treaty with the mission of conservation and wise use of wetlands through local, regional and national action and international cooperation and to contribute towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.
• The convention plays an important role in deepening the world’s consciousness of the importance of protecting wetlands
• The Montreux Record is a voluntary mechanism to highlight specific wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention, but which are facing immediate challenges.
• In particular, the Montreux Record is a register of listed Ramsar sites where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.

Importance of Pulicat Lake

• The lake receives fresh water through the rivers and canals draining into it and marine water through the inlet mouth connected to the Bay of Bengal.
• The lake has a spatial and temporal salinity gradient that gives rise to a multitude of niches inhabited by a large diversity of plant and animal species.
• About a lakh people living in 200 villages around Pulicat Lake depend directly on its highly productive lagoon ecosystem with its rich fishery resources for their livelihood.
• Pulicat Lake is also a biodiversity hotspot that shelters several endemic and endangered species included in the red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• It is an avian paradise for several migratory birds and, during the peak migratory season, hosts around 250 species of birds, 50 of which are intercontinental species.

Emerging issues with over-exploitation of Pulicat Lake

• Rampant destruction (and fragmentation) of the mangrove ecosystem, and conversion of wetland for commercial cultivation of shrimps
• Over-exploitation of hydro-biological resources
• Inappropriate extraction activities (with impacts on fauna)
• Deforestation and conversion of neighbouring forests
• Pollution by waste water and pesticides from adjacent agricultural lands.
• A wide area of Pulicat has been destroyed, and now there are several development projects planned that will have an impact on the lake: expansion of the Dugarajapatnam port and a proposed Adani port, among other projects.
• Further, emerging issues such as global warming, climate change and their impacts on coastal zone ecosystems further accelerate the destruction of fragile ecosystems.

Key suggestions for rejuvenation of Pulicat Lake

1. Establishment of a Development Authority: State governments must establish a development authority for the lake along the lines of the Chilika Development Authority in Odisha. The authority shall ensure:
   • Community-based planning and management scheme (e.g. active participation of stakeholders and resource users)
   • An integrated approach (that involves the entire ecosystem and not only the protected area)
   • A zoning programme for land-use planning, clear conservation objectives, identification and mitigation of key impacts and, finally, a solid technical base for the project’s implementation and monitoring.
2. Proper Resource Allocation: It has been recognised that the human and financial resources currently allocated are not sufficient
   • Successful conservation of lakes depends on the proper management of their watersheds, but there are conflicting interests in the use of their resources
3. Local governments should stop the lime shell mining that local people carry out at Pulicat Lake as it destroys mudflat habitats.
4. Local governments should also devise a way to protect these habitats such as designation of the tidal flats as important for migratory birds.
5. Government should proceed with the process of getting the lake registered in the Ramsar List.
6. Besides the strategies for biodiversity conservation of Pulicat Lake, ecotourism development, community participation, integrated watershed management, hydrological monitoring and modelling activities need to be undertaken in collaboration with various national and international institutions.
7. Implement key Learnings from Chilika Lake
   • Restoring the lake by funding research and educational and conservation projects
   • Setting up an interpretation centre, a GIS cell and people’s participatory, ecotourism and development programmes
   • Managing the fish resources (in consultation with the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute)
   • Carrying out dredging interventions
   • Monitoring water chemistry and quality and eradicating invasive species.
   • A team of biologists to prepare an adaptive ecological plan for the lake and to carry out regular monitoring of the lake ecosystem. The ecosystem approach is the only way to manage the resources sustainably.

Way Forward

1. Management of the catchment in a participatory manner as the plan for restoration of the lake must be based on a river basin approach
2. Protection of bird habitats and of bird species with the active involvement of the community
3. Economic incentives for the local population to stop poaching of birds
4. Measures to improve the socio-economic conditions, such as orientation training to facilitate community-based ecotourism
5. Provision of solar street lights for island villages
6. Development of a ferry service for isolated island villages
7. Development of landing facilities for fisherfolk
8. Networking of NGOs and community-based organisations
9. Carrying out education and environmental awareness activities.

Conclusion

• Therefore, it is important to involve all stakeholders in the process of restoration, conservation and management of lakes and coastal wetlands.
• And there is an urgent need to promote regional linkages, develop strategic partnerships and follow good practices in the conservation and management of lakes and coastal wetlands.
• It is also essential to establish new or strengthen ongoing regional and international cooperation linkages and strategic partnerships between governments, international agencies, universities, research institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local communities, the private sector and individuals.
• Pulicat Lake could be a significant subject to indicate the future course of wetland protection and, if successful, could serve as an international model for development and protection.

Mains Question:

Q. Despite wetland significance in climate change mitigation and substantial contribution for the protection of the entire ecological system, the progress made towards rejuvenation and conservation of wetlands in India is very unimpressive. Discuss. (15 marks).

Source: Frontline