The failure of the successive governments to take measures for conservation of wetlands in Kashmir has pushed them on the brink of extinction.
While authorities in Kashmir would commemorate the World Wetlands Day on Tuesday by holding seminars and debates, the wetlands in Valley continue to face the official neglect.
The World Wetlands Day marks the signing of convention on wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, on this day in 1971 for conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands.
In absence of conservation measures, wetlands in Kashmir including Wullar, Hokersar, Haigam, Mirgund, Shalabugh have lost their carrying capacity due to extensive siltation and pollution.
Wullarlake and its associated wetlands comprise an important habitat for migratory water birds within the Central Asian Flyway and supports rich biodiversity. In recognition of its immense ecological and socio-economic importance, the Wullar was designated as wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1990.
Ironically, in absence of sustained conservation measures, its area has reduced by 45 percent mainly due to conversion to agriculture and plantation. Another Ramsar site, Hokersar wetland in south Srinagar is also on verge of extinction due to siltation and encroachments.
The Haigam Wetland Conservation Reserve in north Kashmir has also shrunk considerably mainly due to paddy cultivation.
Experts said these wetlands have lost their water absorption capacity due to extensive siltation and encroachments.
The layout of Kashmir is such that with the flat topography, the river Jhelum descends a mere 20 meters from its source to its entry into the Wullar, making the Valley vulnerable to flooding. However the nature had created scores of wetlands and water bodies on the left and right of Jhelum so that these could act as reservoirs of the floodwaters, Prof ShakilRomshoo, Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at Kashmir University told Greater Kashmir.
He said the flood vulnerability of people and places in the Jhelum basin has been exacerbated during the last few decades. This is because most of the wetlands in the Jhelum floodplains that used to act as storage for the flood waters, have been converted into agriculture land or concrete landscape, he said.
A study carried out by the Department of Earth Sciences, Kashmir University states that Hokersar has shrunk from 18.75 SqKms in 1969 to 12.8 SqKms at present. Its open water body has shrunk from 1.74 SqKms in 1969 to less than one sq.Km.
Prof Romshoo said most of the wetlands and water bodies in Jhelum basin are fighting a losing battle for their survival.
The functionality of wetlands, having strong linkages with the hydrological cycle, has got adversely affected due to their encroachment and seasonal changes in the precipitation and glacier melt runoff attributed to the climate change, he said.
He said during the 2014 floods, it was observed how the residential colonies in the city, which had never flooded in the past, got inundated up to 15 feet because of the loss and degradation of wetlands the Srinagar city.
In and around Srinagar city only, we have lost about 22 wetlands and water bodies since 1970, particularly in the south of the city. The important wetlands in the Jhelum floodplains around Srinagar like Hokarsar, Bemina wetland, Narakara wetland, Batamaloonumbal, Rakh-e-arth, Ancharlake and Gilsar have been greatly degraded, he said.
He said the impervious concrete surfaces in the south of Srinagar city have increased from 34 percent in 1992 to more than 70 percent in 2015 severally affecting the hydrological processes.
There is need to restore the natural drainage capacity of the Srinagar city to tackle the storm runoff and floodwaters as a part of the Srinagar Master Plan, he said.
Elaborating, he said, the spatial extents of Wullarlake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, and part of the Jhelum drainage basin, has reduced from 159 sq km in 1911 to less than 80 sq km in 2015.
Due to the shrinking and siltation of Wullar and other water bodies along Jhelum river, the floodwater storage potential of the wetlands in the Jhelum basin has significantly reduced during the last few decades, he said.
He said the flood discharge of Jhelum during the September 2014 floods was more than three times the carrying capacity of the river which has further reduced due to the massive siltation of water courses after the floods.
The silted and clogged lakes and wetlands in the Jhelum basin, if not de-silted expeditiously and adequately, would become a cause of major floods in Kashmir in the near future, Prof. Romshoo cautioned.
Wildlife Warden (Wetlands) Kashmir, Imtiyaz Lone, said the Wildlife department has started the process to formulate plans for conservation of wetlands.
We are formulating a comprehensive management action plan for conservation of wetlands through the World Wildlife Fund. On the basis of their recommendations, we will prepare detailed project reports for conservation of major wetlands including Hokersar, Haigam, Shalteng, Chatlam, Fushkuri and Manibugh, he said.
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