Conservation of wetlands ecosystem

CONSERVATION OF WETLAND ECOSYSTEM Integrated Coastal Zone Management for Sustainable Development 12-14 July 2011 Dr. N. SaiBhaskar Reddy, CEO, GEO http://e-geo.org Center for Climate Change and Environment Advisory (CCCEA) Dr. MCR HRD Institute of AP 14th July 2011

Why is conservation education important? Effective conservation will not be achieved without public insistence

What Is a Wetland? Although wetlands are often wet, a wetland might not be wet year-round. In fact, some of the most important wetlands are only seasonally wet. Wetlands are the link between the land and the water. They are transition zones where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients, and the energy of the sun meet to produce a unique ecosystem characterized by hydrology, soils, and vegetation

Wetlands provide fundamental ecological services and are regulators of water regimes and sources of biodiversity at all levels - species, genetic and ecosystem.Wetlands constitute a resource of great economic, scientific, cultural, and recreational value for the community.Wetlands play a vital role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. Progressive encroachment on, and loss of, wetlands cause serious and sometimes irreparable environmental damage to the provision of ecosystem services. Wetlands should be restored and rehabilitated, whenever possible. Wetlands should be conserved by ensuring their wise use

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975, and it is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.

Organism examples: Primary Producers: cattail, wild rice, smooth cord grass, sweet flag, blue iris, switch grass Primary Consumers: meadow voles, mice, rabbits, aquatic macroinvertebrates, deer, fish, waterfowl Secondary Consumers: birds of prey, snakes, foxes, fish, humans Tertiary Consumers: turkey vultures, ravens, crabs, humans Decomposers: fungi, bacteria WETLANDS

As well as sequestering net CO2, peatlands may also emit methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). In the case of peatland drainage, CH4 emissions from peat soils decrease whereas CO2 (and N2O) emissions increase. In case of peatland rewetting, the opposite occurs: CO2 and N2O emissions strongly decrease while CH4 emissions increase.

Wetlands depend on flows from rivers. Dams, diversions and river management have reduced flooding to these wetlands, altering their ecology, and causing the death or poor health of aquatic biota

Wetlands mitigate impact of tidal surge, cyclones, coastal erosion and tsunamis

The coastal domain from 200 m above to 200m below sea level: Occupies 18% of the surface of the globe Is the area where around a quarter of global primary productivity occurs Where around 60% of the human population lives Where two thirds of the world cities with population of over 1.6 million people are located Supplies approximately 90% of world fish catch The coastal ocean accounts for: 8% of the ocean surface < 0.5% of the ocean volume Around 14% of global ocean production Up to 50% of global oceanic denitrification 80% of the global organic matter burial 90% of the global sedimentary mineralisation 75-90% of the global sink of suspended river load and its associated elements/pollutants In excess of 50% of present day global carbonate deposition

Water storage Surface water holding Groundwater recharge Groundwater discharge Flow regulation Flood mitigation Water quality control Water purification Retention of nutrients Retention of sediments Retention of pollutants Hydrological regulating functions of wetlands (Ramsar, 1999)

Emissions from drained land are disproportionally large. Drained peatlands, covering a mere 0.3% of the global land surface, are responsible for some 6% of total global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Worldwide, CO2 emissions from drained peatlands have increased by 25% since 1990.

Wetlands – Kidneys of Earth Wetlands are the kidneys of Earth. They purify the waters that pass through them and distill out poisonous sediments, chemicals and pollutants. Wetlands purify waste matter through a natural process of oxidation, radiation, bio-degradation and pisciculture (fish cultivation). Wetlands also regulate and maintain the planet’s air and water cycles including the levels of oxygen, nitrogen, sulpher, methane and carbon-dioxide.

The remaining area is grown for wetland rice, consisting of irrigated, rainfed, and deepwater rice. The global wetland rice area harvested annually in the early 1980s was about 123.2 million hectares (total harvested area including upland rice is 144 Mha), over 90 per cent of which was in Asia.

Ref: Present state of the coastal environment in IndiaElrich de Sa, Director, National Institute of Oceanography.

Wetlands of Namibia Poster Or http://www.nnf.org.na/NNF_docs/Wetlands%20poster.ppt

Kinds of Wetlands Vary based on geographic location ,[object Object]

Bottomland – lowlands along streams and rivers

Fen – ground-water fed; peat accumulating

Marsh – frequently inundated; emergent herbaceous vegetation

Mire – peat-accumulating (Europe)

Moor – peat-accumulating (Europe)

Muskeg – Large expanses of peatlands or bogs (Canada/Alaska)

Peatland – any wetland that accumulates decaying plant matter

Playa – marshlike ponds similar to potholes (southwest U.S.)

Pothole – shallow, marshlike pond; found in Dakotas and Canada

Reedswamp – marsh dominated by common reed (Europe)

Slough – swamp or shallow lake system

Swamp – wetland dominated by trees or shrubs

Vernal Pool – shallow, intermittently flooded wet meadow

Wet Meadow – grassland with waterlogged soil near the surface – without water for most of year

Wet Prairie – similar to marsh but water levels intermediate between marsh and wet meadowSource: Mitsch and Gosselink, 1993.

Conservation of wetlands ecosystem

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