“Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction”

Photo : Anil Nagpal

Vivek Sharma,2nd,Feb,2017Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) celebrated World Wetland Day on 2^nd February 2017. Around 200 students from various colleges of Delhi University and under-privileged school children organized by National Museum of natural History (NMNH) alongwith Centre for Social Development & Research Foundation(CSDR Foundation), noted journalists, researchers, academicians, engineers and nature enthusiasts participated in the event. This year’s theme was “Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction”. All the participants assembled in the amphitheater of Yamuna Biodiversity Park where Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar, Scientist-in-charge, YBP welcomed all by laying importance on functionality of healthy wetlands. He explained the importance of restored wetlands and associated ecosystems in the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. All the speakers have emphasized the importance of wetlands for sustainable future and disaster management.

Professor C.R. Babu, Delhi University beseeched that it is our duty to conserve wetlands to secure our future. He also shared that how wetlands can be used to treat sewage water without any expenditure of energy and with low cost, as has been done in Neela Hauz Biodiversity Park. Professor R.S. Sharma linked wetlands with budget and investments and said that wetlands are like blue chip funds which are highly stable, most productive and work efficiently for risk managements. Dr. Shah Hussain, Scientist incharge, Aravalli Biodiversity Park emphasized that how loss of wetlands has resulted in mishaps of catastrophic nature in the recent past in Uttrakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Chennai.

Professor T. R. Rao, Noted ecologist and the chief guest of the function pointed out that one should adopt wetlands of their surroundings and join hands for its conservaton and restoration.The wetlands of Yamuna Biodiversity Parks which are restored to bring back the native flora and fauna of the river Yamuna were the main attraction. Two wetlands of different depth, length and dimensions have been developed here keeping in consideration on both the physical and biological variables. A narrow shallow wetland of about 1.8Km long is created with the objective of rain water harvesting and to increase the biodiversity in terms of aquatic vegetation which in turn provided suitable habitat for many insects, fishes, birds and reptiles. Restoration of native Tamarix-Phragmites forest all along the wetland has brought back an important bird species Black crowned night heron, which once existed in River Yamuna and its floodplains but vanished. Each year thousands of night heron are making nest and successfully breeding in the Tamarix- Phragmites forest of this wetlands. Birds such as darter, purple heron, Grey heron and cormorants are also using this habitat to make their nest creating a huge heronery. 

Similarly, a deep wetland of about seven acres has been developed which attracts numerous migratory birds such as Common Red Pochard,  Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintails, Great Cormorants, Painted Stork, Gadwals, Teals etc., from various regions of the world. Importance of native Flora and Fauna and their dependence on wetlands in the park was discussed.