14th Annual National Conference on

Wetlands and Biodiversity

Significance of Conservation of Wetlands
Vrushabh Dharmik and Wallabh Borkar
Department of Chemical Engineering
Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Navi Mumbai

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE

Aquatic ecosystems sustain life on earth, regardless of humankind’s understanding of the biology, chemistry, and
geology involved. Population increase coupled with intense anthropogenic activities and unplanned developmental
activities have impaired the ecosystems’ functions and have resulted in the extinction of these fragile ecosystems.
The consequence may be long term and possibly irreversible changes. Such changes reduce the value of the
ecosystem. They can even affect the economy. Understanding of functions and values of the ecosystem is crucial for
appropriate decision-making. The decisions with the holistic ecosystem approach ensure the sustainability of the
ecosystems. This paper with case studies discusses the valuation of ecosystems considering the direct, indirect and
existence benefits. The economic valuation of wetlands helps to understand the constituent’s functions and benefits
and this exercise could act as a catalyst for wetland conservation. The services provided by these wetlands are
innumerable and these values are often lost through inappropriate development and are used inefficiently due to lack
of knowledge about the vital functions performed by them. Linkages between use values and ecosystem functions are
to be highlighted to raise awareness among the users. The role of the stakeholders especially public and private
sectors in managing the ecosystems in a sustainable manner has been outlined in this paper while evolving the
management strategies.
Keywords : Conservation, Economic Valuation, Economy, Ecosystem, Sustainability.
INTRODUCTION
1. Wetland ecosystems are interconnected and interactive within a watershed. Unplanned urbanization and a growing
population have taken their toll on wetlands. To counter these, management of wetlands has to be an integrated
approach in terms of planning, execution and monitoring.
2. Wetlands seemingly are very important since many diverse species of plants, animals and inspects habitat these
regions and the population that lives in un-urbanized locality are mostly dependent of these sources for many things
hence to quantitatively determine ecological and economical value of wetlands.
STUDY
Wetlands differ widely in character due to regional and local differences in climate, soils, topography,
hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors. Depth and duration of inundation, a key
defining force, can differ greatly between types of wetlands and can vary from year to year within a
single wetland type.
1. Economical Aspect :
There are several terms which can be viewed for the evaluation in economic aspect viz., Value, Direct
and indirect economic impacts giving us Optional value, quasi-optional value, Non-use value, Bequest
value under which the benefits can be segregated in table 1.

RESULT
Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary,
with water that is static or flowing; fresh, brackish, or salty, including areas of marine water the depth of
1. According to IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, an estimated 126,000 described species rely on freshwater
which at low tide does not exceed 6-m.
habitats, including species of fishes, molluscs, reptiles, insects, plants, and mammals. Almost 45% of all fishes
live in freshwater and about 25% of all molluscs are freshwater species.
2. The preliminary socio-economic survey carried out in the region surrounding Hebbal lake through Contingency
Manmade Valuation Method showed high level of dependency on wetlands for ground water, for immediated, fodder, fish,
fuel, etc. The high level of dependency on wetlands and its poor quality calls for restoration of degraded lakes
and appropriate measures for conservation and management in order to maintain ecological balance in the region.
Inland Receive water from
Wetland Also Known as Non- precipitation,
Categorization tidal, Freshwater snowmelt, ground
wetland water, runoff

Coastal Receive water from

Also known as Tidal, precipitation, surface
Salt water or Estuarine water, tides, ground
wetland water

Wetlands undertake important biological and ecological processes including life support systems i.e. water and carbon
cycles. Hence, they are important for hydrological functions, economic development, social, and cultural
development. Functions are the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in and making up an ecosystem.
Processes include the movement of water through the wetland into streams or the ocean; the decay of organic matter;
the release of Nitrogen, Sulphur, and Carbon into the atmosphere; the removal of nutrients, sediment and organic
matter from water moving into the wetland; and the growth and development of all the organisms that require wetlands
for life.
The need for economic valuation of environmental impacts and assets arises for pursuing efficient policies and
investing in efficient projects and programs. At the most general level of intergenerational concern, valuation is still
required. Economic valuation incorporating environmental aspects helps in evaluating developmental projects,
programs and policies.
According to IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, an estimated 126,000 described species rely on freshwater
habitats, including species of fishes, molluscs, reptiles, insects, plants, and mammals. Almost 45% of all fishes live in
freshwater and about 25% of all molluscs are freshwater species.
A particular data studied the water consumption of two lakes named Rachunahalli and Amruthalli lakes. The data is Figure 1 figure 2
comprised of the water consumption from these lakes by the people in around the 1km radius area. The data is shown in
above table 3
CONCLUSION
• Wetlands cover at least six per cent of the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation due to the
ecosystem services they provide. More than three billion people, around half the world’s population, obtain their
basic water needs from inland freshwater wetlands. The same number of people rely on rice as their staple food, a
crop grown largely in natural and artificial wetlands.
• The economic worth of the ecosystem services provided to society by intact, naturally functioning wetlands is
frequently much greater than the perceived benefits of converting them to 'more valuable' intensive land use –
particularly as the profits from unsustainable use often go to relatively few individuals or corporations, rather than
being shared by society as a whole.

REFERANCE

Alligators, snakes, turtles, newts and salamanders are among the reptiles and amphibians that live in
wetlands. Invertebrates, such as crayfish, shrimp, mosquitoes, snails and dragonflies, also live in
wetlands, along with birds including plover, grouse, storks, herons and other
2. Ecological Aspect :
The nutrients dissolved in the water are set into use by the different ways. The nitrates are absorbed by
the plants through anerobic process called denitrification. Also the ammonium nitrate is absorbed by the
plants or is converted into Nitrogen by Volatilization. Other nutrients like phosphorus, some metals
flowing through water are sedimented down the wetland bottom.
1. T. V. Ramachandra and R. Rajinikanth, 2005. Economic Valuation of Wetlands. Journal of Environmental Biology,
26(3), 439-447.
2. Ramachandra T. V., Alakananda B, Ali Rani and Khan M A, 2011, Ecological and socio-economic assessment of
Varthur wetland, Bengaluru (India), J Environ Science & Engg, Vol 53. No 1. p 101-108, January 2011.
3. Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention: the role of the Convention on Wetlands in the conservation and
wise use of Biodiversity; edited by A. J. Hails