‘70% wetland loss key reason behind monsoon flooding’

MUMBAI: The city’s annual flooding woes can be attributed to the loss of more than three-fourths of its wetlands due to rapid urbanisation and illegal encroachments, a member of the national wetland conservation governing body said on Saturday.

Afroz Ahmad, member of National Wetland Committee and advisor to Maharashtra government’s environment and forest departments, presented his views while inaugurating ‘Wetlands of Sindhudurg’, India’s first wetland website (sindhudurgwetlands.in) that documents inland wetland sites across the south Konkan district. The website provides information on environmental and socio-cultural aspects of wetland conservation as well.

The environmental scientist highlighted how Mumbai had witnessed wetland reclamation, more than any other major Indian city over the past 50 years.

“Mumbai’s shoreline itself, which has a 6-metre depth, is also termed as a wetland. Reclamation there has made the city vulnerable. Moreover, river floodplains and catchment areas have already been built upon. This is the reason why maximum flooding takes place. There is no water absorption anymore,” said Ahmad, co-author of the guidelines for Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.

Ahmad’s assessments were in line with a study by Wetlands International South Asia (WISA) that showed Mumbai had lost 71% wetlands from 1970 to 2014, followed by Ahmedabad (57%), Bengaluru (56%), Hyderabad (55%), Delhi and National Capital Region (38%), and Pune (37%). “Comprehensive wetland inventories are not yet available, but some datasets indicate Mumbai witnessed very high wetland loss through reclamation but so have other major cities. Post 1970s when cities started expanding, they started eating into the wetlands,” said Ritesh Kumar, director, WISA.

According to the National Wetland Atlas 2011 (Maharashtra), made under the 2010 wetland rules, Mumbai had 475 wetlands — 412 in the suburbs and 63 in south Mumbai — spread across 14,045 hectare (ha). Under the amended 2017 rules, Mumbai will have only one major notified wetland at Powai Lake (181.9ha).

“It is advisable that all wetlands, including those identified in the atlas, and lakes be protected as heritage sites. Develop brief documents and action plan for their management,” said Ahmad. Citing that Sindhudurg was among the first districts in India to develop communitydriven wetland brief documentation committee and listing wetlands taluka-wise as an inventory, he said the Sindhudurg model, which is now on a public platform, needs to be replicated in the rest of the state and in India.

STUDENTS IN APEX COURT