Saturday, January 31, 2004
Nepal's wetlands under threat
Sanjaya Dhakal (OneWorld.net) Kathmandu, January 30
On the eve of World Wetlands Day on February 2, environmentalists in Nepal warn that conservation efforts are urgently needed to save the Himalayan kingdom's degraded wetlands which include four Ramsar sites, and attract migratory birds from across the world.
According to Deependra Joshi, program officer at the World Conservation Union (IUCN-Nepal), "Even till the mid-1990s, 10,000 - 20,000 migratory birds like cranes used to come every year to east Nepal's Koshi Tappu wetland during December-February to escape the harsh winter of Siberia."
But thanks to its unchecked degredation, Joshi adds that, "this figure has dropped substantially to 300-400."
These migratory birds come from as far as 2500 - 2800 miles north. "There are some species of birds that are found to come here even from Europe," says Joshi.
Agrees renowned ornithologist, Dr Hem Sagar Baral,"Thousands of birds belonging to 20-30 different species of ducks, geese, waders and cranes used to come from the north, but of late, their numbers have drastically reduced and they are hard to locate."
Dr Baral says these birds mostly use Nepal's wetlands during their passage further south up to the northern Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Environmentalists blame the sharp decline in numbers on hunting, the heavy use of agro-chemicals by farmers with fields near the wetlands, and the poisoning of water to kill ducks.
Other major threats include siltation, over exploitation of wetland resources, over fishing, hunting and poaching, overgrazing by livestock, illegal harvesting of wetland resource, encroachment, water pollution, developmental activities in adjoining areas, drainage, introduction of invasive species, and floods.
Nepal is home to 242 different wetlands including high altitude glacial lakes to hot springs, ponds to river flooplains, marshes to swamps and so forth.
Wetlands cover approximately five per cent of the country's total landmass.
There are four Ramsar Sites (wetlands of international importance) in Nepal - Koshi Tappu in eastern Nepal, Beeshazari Taal in central Nepal, Jagdishpur Lake in southern Nepal and Ghodaghodi Taal in western Nepal. The latter three were included in the Ramsar Site only in the year 2003.
According to information provided by the IUCN-Nepal, these wetlands are critical habitats for the one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, Asiatic elephants, fishing cat, gharial and mugger crocodiles, turtles, gangetic dolphins and 193 species of wetlands-dependent birds.
Significantly, 11 species of wetland dependent birds are described as globally threatened. Ten species of amphibians, one of reptile, eight species of fish and seven species of flowering plants are endemic to Nepal's wetlands
The main migratory birds flocking here include Sarus Crane or Grus antigone, which is a nationally protected species, black storks, Ruddy Shelduck or Tadoma Ferruginea, among others. Of the 859 bird species found in Nepal, 193 are known to be dependent on wetlands.
The deterioration of the wetlands spells disastrous consequences for animals too. For as Subas Dhakal, wildlife researcher and editor of Kathmandu-based The Wildlife Journal, elaborates, "Not only the birds, even globally threatened species of mammals like the one-horned rhinoceros, tigers and Barasingha are wetland-dependent."
But as Joshi says, "Adequate knowledge on the biodiversity status of wetlands distributed throughout the middle and high mountain regions of Nepal is yet to be generated."
The IUCN-Nepal has been working extensively to raise awareness and conserve the wetlands, although the government has remained oblivious to the problem all these years.
Batu Krishna Uprety, joint secretary in the Environment Section of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation concedes that efforts to conserve the wetlands are grossly inadequate.
But he adds this may change soon. According to him, "The government has come up with a new Wetland policy, which aims to make use of local communities for the sustainable conservation of wetlands and Ramsar sites."
To do this, Uprety says the government is willing to join hands with environmental organizations. Nepal is a party to the International Ramsar Convention.
But past experiences have shown that most management plans fail at the implementation stage. As an official from the Ministry of Population and Environment puts it, "The main challenge before the government is how to convince people about the significance of wetlands to their livelihood."
A recent assessment of the dollar value of the global natural ecosystem was estimated at US $33 trillion, of which the value of the wetland ecosystem is estimated at US $14.9 trillion, roughly 45 per cent of the total.
The importance of wetlands can hardly be underestimated. According to the IUCN, wetlands hold heavy rainfall and prevent possible downstream floods. Many wetlands help recharge underground aquifers that store 97 per cent of the world's unfrozen fresh water. They also act as significant carbon sinks, so their destruction releases greenhouse gases like carbondioxide.
Although freshwater wetlands cover only one per cent of the earth surface, they hold more than 40 per cent of the world's biological species and 12 per cent of all animal species. Rice is the most common wetland plant which forms the staple diet for over half the world's population.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.