Kashmir's Wetlands are Drying Out

Wetlands are disappearing due to encroachments, pollution, constructions and official apathy

Valley’s wetlands face grave threat

Srinagar: World Wetland Day celebrated on February 2 is the right occasion to think over the causes that have brought most wetlands in the Valley to the brink of extinction, say environmentalists. While lakhs of rupees would be spent on debates, awareness programs, and seminars, rightly so, it is the time to draw radical conservation plans for saving the wetlands so important to ecosystems.

Environmentalists have raised concern over the encroachment, pollution, and heavy deposition of silt in famous wetlands like Hokersar, Haigam, Shallabugh and Mirgund, which are the satellite wetlands of Wullar Lake and host to thousands of migratory birds every year.

Haigam Wetland Conservation Reserve, an important refuge for migratory waterfowls, shorebirds and trans-Himalayan species in winters has shrunk considerably as people of adjoining villages have encroached on the land and started paddy cultivation. Environmentalists blame government for it, as there are no conservation measures and monitoring mechanism in place. In fact, the authorities constructed a road on the wetland’s boundary at Asthanpoora in 2007, throwing to winds the norms and the warnings of the environmentalist that the vehicular traffic on the road will affect habitat of the birds.

Owing to its location at the western extremity of Himalayas, Wullar has been an important flyway and staging ground for migratory birds including shorebirds, gadwall, cranes, ducks, geese, pintails which migrate to Valley to ward off the extreme cold in their summer homes in Siberia and Central Asia.

Due to its rich bio-diversity and capacity to host the avian visitors, Wullar has been included under the Ramsar Convention making its conservation mandatory for the Government. The lake and its satellites wetlands have been included in the network of important Bird Areas.

The migratory birds have been using the Wullar lake for feeding during the night when there is no disturbance from fisherman or hunters. During March-June large areas of Wullar and with floating vegetation, trees, bushes and reed beds serve as breeding and nesting sites for some of the birds. And during daytime they seek refuge in the Hokersar and its surrounding wetlands. Hokersar, which in an important wetland for resident and migratory waterfowls is facing threats of extinction due to silt and encroachment.

Former chief wildlife warden, Abdur Rashid Wani, said due massive urbanization around the Hokersar and other wetlands, many species of migratory birds like Bar-Headed geese and Siberian Crane have stopped to visit the Valley.

“The authorities have failed to maintain buffer zone around the wetlands, particularly Hokersar. Huge concrete constructions are coming up on fringes of Hokersar. This practice has to be stopped if we want the play host to migratory birds,” Wani said.

The wetland within Jhelum including Wullar used to receive seven out of 53 globally threatened and near threatened water birds and wetland birds. None of these species have been observed in the Valley for past a few years.

The Wetland International South Asia in its studies on Wullar and its associated wetlands has blamed loss and modification of habitats as major threat to the birds. Some of the birds visiting the Valley are listed under appendices of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1982) to which India is a contracting party and others are covered under the Central Asian Flyway Action Plan. The Convention makes it mandatory for the states, including Jammu and Kashmir to protect and maintain the wetlands.

Aijaz Rasool, an expert with the Wetland International-South Asia said the remains of dead aquatic flora and plants have largely affected the water holding capacity of the wetlands. “This has not only affected the water quality but plants and seeds which form important feed to the migratory birds,” he said.

He recommended immediate measures to check the encroachments, deweeding and water management for revival of Wetlands.

Chief Wildlife Warden, AK Shrivastava said proposals for conservation plans of Hokersar and Haigam wetlands have been submitted to the Central Government. “As soon as we get the approval, we will start the conservation measures. We are committed to restore glory of the wetlands,” Srivastava said.

In his official message on the World Wetland Day, the Minister of Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf, acknowledges deterioration of the Wetlands. “Many wetlands in the Valley are under threat due to reclamation for agriculture, developmental activities and contamination by sewage, agricultural run-off and siltation. Most of the wetlands in the lower Himalayan region are infested with aquatic weeds. The Trans-Himalayan wetlands are becoming fragile due to anthropogenic activities, growing tourism and faulty land management,” he said.

(Greater Kashmir)