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Wetland protection
Wetlands in Bangalore and elsewhere receive largely untreated runoff from much of the developed urban and agricultural areas. Proper management calls they are protected from such inputs using water quality standards promulgated for wetlands. It is also important to develop and implement strategies for the long-term protection and enhancement of these ecosystems. An identified key element of protection strategy is the physical buffers to minimize edge effects and mitigate water quality impacts on these ecosystems.
1. Assignment of a Designated Use
Urban wetlands provide multiple values for suburban and city dwellers [Castelle, et al., 1994]. The capacity of a functional urban wetland in flood control, aquatic life support and as pollution sink implies a greater degree of protection. At most, passive use by humans (e.g., aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife observation) can also provide a resource base for people dependent on them. Some of the factors to be considered for setting the designated use and developing a management strategy for wetlands are:
- Wetland type,
- Surrounding land use pattern,
- Cumulative impacts on the wetland,
- Vegetation quality,
- Presence or absence of rare and endangered species,
- Surface water quality,
- Wildlife habitat, and
- Cultural values.
2. Creation of Buffers zones for Wetlands protection:
Criteria for determining adequate buffer size to protect wetlands and other aquatic resources depends on [Castelle et al. 1994]:
- Wetland functional value - identifying its functional values by evaluating the economic costs.
- Identify the intensity of disturbance, sensitivity of disturbance, adjacent land use etc.
- Buffer characteristics - vegetation density and structural complexity, soil condition.
A fully formed buffer must consider identified pollution problem, resource to be protected, and buffering function to be performed. A buffer zone consisting of diverse vegetation along the perimeter of waterbody, preferably one of natural habitat, stable species serves to perform the following functions:
- Sediment removal.
- Nutrient transformation and removal.
- Metals and other pollutant reduction.
- Storm water runoff reduction through infiltration,
- Reduction of water temperature,
- Reduction of human impacts by limiting easy access and by minimizing edge effects from noise, light, temperature, and other changes,
- Protection for interior wetland species, and
- A barrier to invasion of exotic species (such as water hyacinth).
3. Community support
Successful conservation program calls for an active participation of local community. This could be developed through volunteers implementing protective measures from conservation organizations, NGO's, water quality monitoring groups, and citizens’ groups of the local community.
4. Schools and colleges
Education and training are essential to bring in awareness among public. This needs multidisciplinary-trained professionals. This could be achieved by the involvement of local school and colleges. Physical, chemical and biological characterization of wetlands helps in assessing the status. Restoration and conservation of an aquatic ecosystem requires an integrated, broad-based approach.
The active participation from the schools and colleges in the vicinity of the waterbodies may value the opportunity for hands-on environmental education. This entails setting up laboratory facilities at site to enable the students to understand the complex ecosystem with field exposures. Regular long term monitoring of waterbodies provides a. database for further analyses of changes in quality. This helps in evolving suitable strategies for restoration and conservation.
5. Role of regulatory agencies:
Regulatory agencies consisting of representatives from local community and the concerned agencies are to be made responsible for developmental activities. Permitting for fisheries include stipulations, regulations requiring the permittee to submit interim reports of the water quality, fish yield, etc, and the report be made accessible to public. |
