This document discusses wetland resources, management, and case studies on ecosystem services, wise use, and conservation. It summarizes the key ecosystem services provided by urban wetlands like stormwater storage, flood retention, water quality improvement, and habitat. The document also outlines a framework for the wise use of wetlands, including integrating wetlands into catchment management and developing management plans through multi-stakeholder platforms. Case studies from India, including the East Kolkata Wetlands, are presented to illustrate approaches to wetland conservation and generating livelihoods through ecosystem services.

1. Getting Wetland Research into Policy and Practice
2 February 2018
Photo: Kolkata
Wetland Resource
Management:
Wise use and
ConservationPriyanie Amerasinghe
Matthew McCartney
International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka
p.amerasinghe@cgiar.org

2. Content
• Wetland Resources
• Wetland resource
management
• Case studies: Ecosystem
services, wise use and
conservationTalangama Tank, Sri Lanka, 2018

3. Source: WEF, 2017
Global Risk Perception Survey

4. • Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (6)
• Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (11)
• Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (13)
• Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for
sustainable development (14)
• Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and
halt biodiversity loss (15).

5. Green Infrastructure for Future Cities –
drought and flood mitigation

6. Urban Wetlands: Benefits to People and Nature
• Storm water storage
• Water quality improvements
• Flood retention
• Provide opportunities for
recreation
• Create field laboratories for
scientists and students
• Irrigation water – livelihood
opportunities for the poor
• Aesthetic value
• Habitats for flora and fauna
in urban areas
Photo: Kolkata

7. “The maintenance of their ecological character,
achieved through the implementation of
ecosystem approaches, within the context of
sustainable development”
Ramsar Hand Books for Wise Use of Wetlands 2010
Talangama Tank , Sri Lanka, 2018

8. Wise use of wetlands Conceptual Frame Work and “Tool kit” Ramsar Hand Book

9. • Water Resources
management - water supply
(ground and surface water)
• Storm water management
• Water pollution
• Wastewater management
• Sewage disposal
Water Resources Management in Urban Wetlands
Photo: Lendi Talao, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 2015
Photo: Naik Talao, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 2015

10. • Hydrology (including the rate and balance of water
inputs and loss, together with net water storage)
plays an important role in defining wetland
characteristics. It is a pre-requisite to
understanding and effective management of
wetland ecosystems - Barker and Maltby, 2009
• Wetland water level regime or hydroperiod is a
hydrological signature of each wetland type –
Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000
Hydrology influences the abiotic and biotic
characteristics of wetlands

11. Water Balance Conceptual Diagram
Source: Mitsch and Gosselink (2000)
ΔV/Δt = Pn + Si + Gi – ET –So – Go – Abs where,
ΔV/Δt is change in volume of water storage in wetland/tank per unit time, t
P is precipitation
Si is surface inflows
Gi is groundwater inflows
ET is evapotranspiration
So is surface outflows
Go is groundwater outflows
Abs is Anthropogenic abstractions

12. Hydroperiod: the period in which a soil area is waterlogged

13. Water level regimes or
hydroperiod of different
wetland types

16. • Wetlands are an integral part of a
catchment/River Basin and are highly
dependent upon the upstream conditions
within their catchment for water, energy
and nutrients.
• Many engineering approaches to water
resources development, such as dams
and diversion, can cause significant
damages to wetlands
 Ithai Barrage – Loktak Lake (Manipur)
 Narag Barrage – Chilika Lagoon
(Odisha)
 Water diversion from Banganga and
Gambhir rivers - Keoladeo National
Park (Rajesthan)
Types of wetlands included in the
Ramsar definition. Source: Davis
and Claridge (1993)
Integrating wetlands into catchment/river
basin management

17. Changes in the Hydroperiod of Loktak Lake,
Manipur, India

18. Case Studies

19. • India became a signatory
to the Ramsar convention
in 1982
• Currently there are 26
sites designated as
Wetlands of International
Importance (Ramsar Sites)
– covering an area of
689,131 hectares
• Supreme court decision to
protect over 2 lakhs of
wetlands (2017)
India

20. Study site
0 3 6 9 121.5
Kilometers
Kolkata
Area: 87,500 ha
Nagpur
Area: 92,500 ha

21. Howra, Kolkata

22. Howra, Kolkata

23. Sewage Canal, Kolkata

24. Kalikapur Slum, Kolkota

25. Developing a Framework for Wise-use of
Wetlands – Kalikapur Slum, West Bengal
• Natural spring
• Used to be a
garbage dump
• Drinking water
supply
• Domestic
purposes
• Irrigated
agriculture

26. CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE
Ecosystem Services (HH & FGDs)
Ecosystem Services
Check-listing / Scoring
Wetland Selection based
on ES Score & Community
dependence
Questionnaire Preparation,
Validation, Revision and
Field Surveys.
For each of the ES identified, a score of 1 was given and summed-up to give a
final score for the wetland.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB): Ecological
and Economic Foundations. Earthscan, London.

27. Distribution of ES (%)
1 Bathing and washing
2 Recreation
3 Religious activities
4 Medicinal plants/food
5 Fishing
6 Firewood
7 Construction Material
8 Agriculture0
20
40
60
80
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Urban Wetlands Peri-Urban Wetlands

28. Photo:DavidBrazier/IWMIPhoto:TomvanCakenberghe/IWMIPhoto:DavidBrazier/IWMIPhoto:DavidBrazier/IWMI
Land Cover Type Area (ha) % Area
Water Bodies / Wetlands 3107 25.68
Built Up /Settlements 1166 9.64
Agriculture/Open 3804 31.44
Vegeation/Parks 4023 33.25
Total Area 12100 100
East Kolkata Wetlands
Legend
East Kolkata Wetland Area Boundary
Water Bodies/ Wetlands
Built-Up/ Settlements
Agriculture/Open
Vegetation
East Kolkata Wetlands - 2011

29. BIO-RIGHTS SCHEMES
• Bio-rights is a financing mechanism developed to empower low-
income groups to protect the ecosystem services that they depend
on
• Developed by the Wetlands International, Alterra Green World
Research (Wageningen University) and a number of partner
organizations in the late 1990s (Eijk and Kumar, 2009)
• Bio-rights schemes provide micro-credits or micro- insurance
(defined as a mechanism to protect poor people against risk – e.g.
loss of livelihoods - in exchange for insurance premium payments
tailored to their needs, income and level of risk) to local
communities to engage in sustainable practices

30. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES - EKW
• Treatment of sewage water from the municipal areas: The
wetland treats nearly 600 million liters of sewage arising from
the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area every day
• Fish and vegetable production: pisciculture in the ponds
generate one-third of city’s daily fish requirement (about
11,000 metric tonnes per annum), 150 metric tonnes of
vegetables per day from the horticulture areas within the
wetland.
• Recreation – ecotourism
• Biodiversity hotspots
• Ecological integrity for the delta region

31. Registered
Cooperatives
EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS
Unregistered
Cooperatives
(Policy Directives)
(EKW Management)
State Fisheries Department
(Resources, Support, Recognition)
Department of Environment and Forests
(Policy Planning)
Conservation
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Financial support
Urban Development Authority
(Capacity Building for Alternative
Livelihoods)
(Grants)
CSOs
(Civil Society Organizations
Community Empowerment)
Ramsar Secretariat
(Policy Guidance)
Biorights
Livelihoods (major and alternative)
ESs
Revenue
GDPInstitutional arrangements for bio-rights programs

32. The Way Forward
Systematic studies on
• Catchment/sub-basin studies
• Changing bio-physical profiles of urban wetlands
• Hydrological profiles
• Drivers that impact the water regime/s (seasons)
and the ecosystem services
• Livelihood dependency
• Multi-sectors involved in water resource
management
• Developing a multi-stakeholder platform for
decision making – Decision support system

33. Integrated Management Plans – Current thinking
• Formation of Wetland Authorities at state level – 8 states
• Developing Policy Guidelines and Framework for
Integrated Management - wetland inventory, cross
sectoral governance, implementing regulations, mission
mode implementation, third party monitoring, site
characterization, boundary delineation, water quality
monitoring
• Hydrology Project:
River Basin Management Plan for integrated Water Resources
Management

34. • Integration of wetland conservation
and wise use with catchment
management – Ramsar Guidelines
• Regular scientific monitoring of
hydrological regimes (surface and
ground water and water quality of
wetlands (eg. Chilika and Loktak)
• Multi-sectoral water allocations
should consider the environment as a
sector (e-flow requirements) to
sustain ecosystem characteristics and
services
• Institutional mechanism : formation of
multi-sector platforms
Wetland Conservation, Wise use and Management

35. Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030)
Thank you

36. Thank you
p.amerasinghe@cigar.org
• WLE program for funding
• Anuradha Adikari and Aruna Jyoti (IWMI-
Hyderabad)
• Stakeholders in Kolkata and Nagpur
• South Asia Forum for Environment,
Kolkata
• Centre for Rural Research and Community
Development, Nagpur