HYDERABAD: Hyderabad ranks fourth among the 22 cities in the country that have lost huge portions of their wetlands in the last four decades, according to a study conducted by the Wetlands International South Asia (WISA). Researchers found that 55 per cent of the city’s wetlands have disappeared over the period of 1970-2014.
The other major cities that have lost their wetland include Mumbai (71 per cent), Ahmedabad (57 per cent), Bengaluru (56 per cent), Delhi and National Capital Region (38 per cent), and Pune (37 per cent). WISA’s report is based on the analysis of satellite images of land use and the ground data of the 22 cities.
WISA director Ritesh Kumar underlined that wetland-loss needed to be seen not only as a biodiversity crisis but as a developmental crisis, leading to increased water, food and climate insecurity.
Speaking to Express, a Forest Department official, on the condition of anonymity, said, “As wetlands decline in urban spaces, the capacity of the landscape to provide ecosystems for the people living around these areas also diminishes. However, the wetlands in the city are under separate jurisdictions, and as a result, their protection is lax.”
The Union Environment Ministry earlier this month had released guidelines for wetland conservation across India. Under this, each state is mandated to set up an authority to define strategies for conservation.
Slamming the State government over wetland-loss, activist Lubna Sarawat said, “We are losing our wetlands because of the encroachment nexus which is prevalent in the city.”