Renuka lake, named after the Goddess Renuka ji, the mother of Lord Parashuram, is situated near Dadahu in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh. Since years, it has been receiving silt and debris from 22 nallas, which are all around the catchment of the lake, which is causing ecological deterioration, habitat degradation and eutrification, etc.
Wetlands provide a range of valuable ecosystem services from water purification and nutrient retention to recreation and aesthetics. The value of these services is often difficult to quantify and document to policy makers and the general public. Economists have developed non-market approaches to address difficult issues related to valuation of the environment. This paper reviews recent literature on non-market valuation as applied to wetlands, with a particular focus on the value of urban wetlands.
The existence of laws and policies in Australia that affect wetland protection and rehabilitation has been ascertained. There is a diverse range of environmental legislation, primarily at the state level, that potentially affects wetlands.
Sundernagar: In the absence of any clear-cut policy thousands of water bodies in the hill state are either highly polluted or losing its character.
The lack of awareness on the subject is further proving fatal, as it has been observed that at village-level water bodies are being destroyed, as residents consider them as unproductive and fill it with debris.
