Conservation of wetlands of India - a review

Wetlands of India, estimated to be 58.2 million hectares, are important repositories of aquatic biodiversity. The diverse ecoclimatic regimes extant in the country resulted in a variety of wetland systems ranging from high altitude cold desert wetlands to hot and humid wetlands in coastal zones with its diverse flora and fauna. The review deals with the status and distribution of wetlands and causes and consequences of wetland losses. It also provides an overview of the use of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools in flood zonation mapping, in monitoring irrigation and cropping patterns, water quality analysis and modelling, change analyses and in mapping of surface water bodies and wetlands. The review provides a methodology and an action plan for evolving a nationwide network of conservation preserves of wetlands. The major elements of this methodology involve use of IRS LISS III sensors for delineating turbidity, aquatic vegetation and major geomorphological classes of wetlands. An extensive fieldwork to generate attribute information on biodiversity and socioeconomic themes is a significant component of the suggested methodology. GIS tools to integrate habitat information with the field information are envisaged to be the final component in evolving a conservation network of wetlands for the entire country.