what problems would you face if you wear in Sundarban ?how would you resolve this problems?
Answers
India by virtue of its unique geographical position and its varied terrain and
climate, is immensely rich in wetland ecosystem. The association of man and
wetlands in India is ancient, where the first signs of civilization, viz., Indus valley
civilization is traced back to the floodplains of the Indus. Even today, wetlands in
India support a large fraction of human population. However, the post-independent
era of India witnessed tremendous pressure to drain wetlands in order to provide
higher value land for agriculture and suburban development. The greatest threat to
the wetlands has been the population explosion, with India crossing one billion mark
as we step on to the twentyfirst century. With the increase in human population,
pressure on land for agriculture, and urban and industrial expansion has mounted
and vast wetland areas in India have been taken over for cultivation. Kolleru lake
(Andhra Pradesh) has lost 34,000 ha of wetland area to agriculture. Deeper bil
(Assam), Hokarsar Lake (Kashmir), and the Pyagpur and Sitadwar Jheels (near
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh) are just a few of the many wetlands to have shrunk on
account of reclamation for agriculture.
Many of the worlds great cities are built near wetlands which not only
provide them water, but are also receptacles of the sewage generated by them. As
cities have grown, boosting the value of the land in their vicinity, urban developers
have found it worthwhile to reclaim parts of the very wetlands that supported the
cities. Reclamation of a part of the Salt Lakes swamp just outside Calcutta to build
salt Jake city, and of parts of the Yamuna flood plain at Delhi, destruction of the
coastal ecosystems and mangroves around Mumbai, and uncontrolled urban
development in the backwaters ofKerala are glaring instances ofwetland losses.
Population pressure and over-exploitation of the wetlands has made this
ecosystem extremely vulnerable and highly threatened. There ecological values are
only recently being understood. Realising the crucial role of the wetland ecosystem,