A dead mallard was found by a team of the Wildlife Conservation Fund, an international NGO, during its one-day field trip in the Fashkoori Wetland Conservation Reserve at Tulbagh in Pampore on January 11.

Locals have been complaining about poaching incidents in the area. The NGO conducted the field trip after receiving several complaints from the locals about bird poaching in the area. The team found the dead mallard with a gunshot injury and one wing missing. It also found a net made of nylon threads, locally known as “waalwaaish”, used for catching water fowls in the wetlands.

SILCHAR: India is a megabiodiversity country and north-east, in particular, is a hotspot of biodiversity in the world being gifted with innumerable water resources in the form of wetlands, lakes and rivers with biodiversity of resources in them. It is also a fact that the depleting water bodies and fish resources along with bioresources are a matter of concern.

In order to dwell deep into the problem, division of wetlands, fishery science and aquaculture in the Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics under the School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, organized a 2 day international symposium entitled ‘Frontiers of Wetlands, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research in the New Millennium’ recently.

The plan of the district administration to de-silt Canoly canal and the Kallayi river as part of a beautification drive is likely to have an adverse impact on large acres of wetland in and around Kottuli, according to a latest study conducted by a researcher from the Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology-Calicut.

Kottuli wetland is one of the largest eco- patches within the city limits identified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under National Wetland Conservation Programme.

A major report that will help countries understand the economic value of inland wetlands, which cover a vast area of the earth’s land surface and provide key ecosystem services, was released at the conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity here on Tuesday. The message ofthe report is simply, ‘drain it, lose it.’

Inland wetlands cover at least 9.5 million sq km of the earth’s surface, and together with coastal wetlands, 12.8 million sq km. Restoration of this particular type of ecosystem is the most expensive. These water bodies provide clean water for drinking and agriculture, cooling water for the energy sector; they also regulate floods. Agriculture, fisheries and tourism sectors depend heavily on the health of wetlands.

Adviser to MoEF visits Sasthamcotta, Ashtamudi lakes

Siddharth Kaul, adviser on wetland conservation to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), has said that a comprehensive management action plan (MAP) is vital for the effective conservation of the Sasthamcotta and Ashtamudi lakes, both Ramsar sites, in Kollam district. Interacting with officials, environment activists and representatives of the people here on Tuesday after assessing the condition of the lakes earlier in the day, Dr. Kaul said he was particularly shocked to see the Ashtamudi lake. “But it is not late; the lakes can definitely be saved.”

Aug. 8: Dispur has given the green signal for setting up Guwahati Waterbodies Regulatory Authority to protect wetlands from being converted for other purposes.

Say over 90 acres of wetlands converted in the last one decade

The controversy over the proposed private international airport project at Aranmula has taken curious turns with the Cabinet decision to regularise conversion of paddy fields and wetlands that have taken place prior to 2005 as well as the clearances reportedly given by various government agencies for the project, allegedly violating prevailing laws, rules and regulations.