Celebrating World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2024, this article compiles top ten inspiring reports showcasing how the relentless efforts by individuals, citizen groups and community have been successful in protection and reviving of wetlands, mangroves, waterbodies and lakes in India during 2023. Please also see part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of the yearend overviews documenting the status of Ramsar and other wetlands, relevant government decisions and judicial intervention regarding protection of wetlands in the country during the past one year.
Continue reading “WWD 2024: Top Ten Citizens Actions for Wetlands Protection in India”
WWD 2024: Top Ten Judicial Actions for Wetlands in India
(Feature Image: A file picture of garbage dumping extending to an additional patch of land at the Pallikaranai marshland. Source: ToI)
The fourth part of the wetlands overview 2023 covers the top ten judicial interventions for the protection of wetlands including Ramsar sites in India. The report shows that the judiciary is increasingly petitioned with legal disputes as the governmental bodies dealing with urban authorities and particularly the regulators have been failing to check unabated pollution and encroachments of the wetlands in their jurisdiction. The legal cases pertaining to encroachments and degradation of Ramsar sites and other wetlands in Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Bhoj lake in Bhopal, Tampara lake in Odisha and Sundarbans in West Bengal clearly indicate the fate of lesser known but equally important water bodies in the country. Overall, the judiciary seems to be finding it tough to stir executioners and unwilling governments and is not equally effective everywhere. However, it has made some landmark orders.
Continue reading “WWD 2024: Top Ten Judicial Actions for Wetlands in India”
WWD 2024: Lot of schemes for India’s Wetlands-Little Credible Action
(Feature Image: A view of the Bahour Lake near Puducherry. Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar/The Hindu)
On the World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2024, this report compiles top ten developments related to Central and state govt actions for wetlands in India. The year 2023 has seen release of first water body survey and launch of Amrit Dharohar & MISHTI schemes by central govt. India has signed institutional framework agreement for the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) to strengthen conservation efforts for migratory birds and their habitats.
The state govts have announced more wetland plans which are becoming a routine with no change in ground situation. Despite judicial intervention the respective govts have not taken necessary actions to protect and restore Najafgarh jheel, Dhanauri wetlands and wetlands in Goa. Broadly, the year 2023 has passed with no remarkable achievement on govt front which provide hope for better future for India’s wetlands. Please see the first and second parts of yearend overviews covering the status of Ramsar sites and other wetlands in India.
Continue reading “WWD 2024: Lot of schemes for India’s Wetlands-Little Credible Action”
WWD 2024: Both Wetlands & Human Beings Remain Neglected
(Feature Image: Struggling for survival: The harrowing lives of Anchar Lake Nadru harvesters. The Nadru harvesters highlight the lack of safety measures, as they can only afford low-quality wetsuits. Haseeb Ibm Hameed/Greater Kashmir)
While the theme for World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2024 is Wetlands and Human beings, this compilation of top ten wetlands (other than Ramsar Wetlands) reports reveals that on ground most of the wetlands and dependent people in India continue to be subject of degradation and neglect primarily due to absence of holistic restoration plans and clearly defined wetlands governance. The first of the series covering the worrying condition of Ramsar Wetlands sites in the country can be seen here.
Continue reading “WWD 2024: Both Wetlands & Human Beings Remain Neglected”
WWD 2024: Top Ten Ramsar Wetland stories from India: Participatory Decision Making needed but totally absent
(Feature Image: Loktak fishers holding meeting at Champu Khangpok floating island village. Photo Credit: Vikalp Sangam)
World Wetland Day (WWD) is celebrated on February 2 annually to signify the environmental as well as socio-economic services and benefits provided by the wetlands both natural and man-made water bodies including rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, swamps, marshlands deltas, coral reefs and mangroves. The theme of WWD 2024 is ‘Wetlands and Human Wellbeing’.
Ramsar Wetlands Convention selects Wetlands of International Importance, basically depending on nominations of the respective national governments and includes them under what is also known as the Ramsar List. However, it is not clear what exactly the Ramsar does for the protection of such designated wetlands. There are currently 75 Ramsar wetlands in India. In fact, the Ramsar sites have seen nearly a three-fold rise in the country in the past eight years decade (26 in 2014 to 75 in 2022). The complete list of 75 Ramsar wetlands in India can be seen here. The state of large number of these designated Ramsar Wetlands is pretty sad for years and decades and deteriorating, but it is not known if Ramsar convention is doing anything in this regard.
Continue reading “WWD 2024: Top Ten Ramsar Wetland stories from India: Participatory Decision Making needed but totally absent”
DRP 290124: Wetlands and Human Wellbeing: So little reflected in wetlands governance
(Chest nut clutivators removing water hycinth from Giri taal of Kashipur in US Nagar, Uttarakhand in April 2023. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
As the world approaches the World Wetlands Day on Feb 2, we notice a proliferation of news related to wetlands, but mostly bad news in this week’s DRP NB: Loktak lake in Manipur facing impact of inland waterways project, the Supreme Court having to intervene for the Futula lake in Nagpur, TN Govt telling NGT that 38% of Pallikaranai marshland is under encroachment, in Bangalore, NGT is asking for response from KSPCB and others regarding the lake buffer zone encroachment. There is also a lot of bad news about the worsening state of our rivers, including Ganga.
One piece of good news is that people have come out with their own plan for restoration of Ennore wetland in TN. In Assam, Maguri Motapung Bill is regaining biodiversity after earlier being polluted by oil spill, but that is only control of damage earlier. Similarly, while it is good news that SC has intervened to protect Futula lake in Nagpur, but the fact that the govt wanted to encroach on it in the name of “temporary” construction is not at all good news.
Continue reading “DRP 290124: Wetlands and Human Wellbeing: So little reflected in wetlands governance”
BHUTAN DRP 2023: Uncertain Fate of Mega Hydro
The Dams, Rivers & People overview of Bhutan here, mainly from media reports from Bhutan, highlights the failed hydropower goal of adding 10000 MW capacity by 2020. The fate of the 1200 MW Punatsangchu I remains uncertain, yet to be decided if the dam will be abandoned for barrage. The flood disaster in July 2023 that washed away 32 MW Yungichhu HEP and killed about 23 people was possibly sign of things to come, as shown by the washing away of the 1200 MW Teesta 3 project in neighbouring Sikkim in early Oct 2023 with GLOF. On positive side, Bhutan has decided to go for Solar and Wind. The Nikachhu HEP is likely to be commissioned soon, adding 118 MW to Bhutan’s installed capacity.
But let us begin with a postive story of a woman River Guardian.
Continue reading “BHUTAN DRP 2023: Uncertain Fate of Mega Hydro”
DRP 220124: Welcome news about Rainfall related issues
There are a number of welcome developments this week related to rainfall. Firstly, forecasters say that the El Nino may start weakening from Feb and may weaken by June 2024 and neutralize thereafter. This can possibly mean good rainfall in SW Monsoon 2024.
Second bit of welcome development is that IMD, on turning 150, has declared that it will set up more doppler radars, rainfall measuring stations and use supercomputers to predict state and district level rainfall, currently it only does at national and four regions.
The study of tehsil level rainfall trends over the last four decades is the third piece of welcome development on rainfall. We need many more studies like this, possibly from IMD itself. More details given below.
Continue reading “DRP 220124: Welcome news about Rainfall related issues”
DRP NEPAL 2023: Vibrant debate about Hydro Projects
This provides an overview of Dams, Rivers & People related issues in Napel in just concluded 2023. While export of hydropower to India is central this year following Nepal PM’s June 2023 visit to India. Pancheshwar, the most ambitious of the projects have seen no real progress in spite of repeated statements. An agreement signed with India to export upto 10000 MW of hydropower in ten years has raised lot of hopes in both countries. The electricity trade has indeed expanded significantly in 2023. There is also renewed hope for Nepal succeeding in export of hydropower to Bangladesh via India, but this still needs some concrete success.
However, most interesting is the vibrant debate in Nepal media about adverse economics, impact on environment, biodiversity and disasters, in addition to displacement risk for thousands of people. Some called it costly madness. It also notes that climate change does not even figure in decision making process. The overview begins with that debate.
Continue reading “DRP NEPAL 2023: Vibrant debate about Hydro Projects”
DRP BANGLADESH 2023: Rivers dominate in a River Intense Nation
In this overview of 2023 issues related to Dams, Rivers and People in Bangladesh, we see how rivers dominate the discourse in one of the most river intense nations of the world. As expected, as India and Bangladesh share the rivers in so many ways, the bilateral issues also dominate. These includes fisheries, power sharing, navigation, besides of course water sharing. As expected, Teesta water sharing issue dominates more than others.
Continue reading “DRP BANGLADESH 2023: Rivers dominate in a River Intense Nation”
SANDRP 