Time to understand significance of wetlands: Experts

Neha Saini

Amritsar, February 2

Harike Pattan, the largest wetland in Punjab and second largest in India, is home to some of the rare species of water birds. It hosts lakhs of migratory birds through the Central Asian flyway and is touted as a hub for eco-tourism in not just Punjab, but on national scale.

Also read: Coffee table book on green wealth of Punjab released on World Wetlands Day

Kanjli Wetland sees no migratory birds this year

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It’s home to vulnerable and endangered species like the Indus river dolphin, gharials, testudines turtle and smooth-coated otter. On World Wetlands Day, that falls on February 2, as part of an international initiative to spread awareness regarding wetland conservation, a run for wetlands has been kick-started from Wednesday till February 5. Under this, several partners and collaborators will host runs/walks for three days to spread awareness regarding wetlands. In the city, several partners, including WWF-India and Dilbir Foundation, will encourage individuals, organisations to host such runs/walks.

Gunbir Singh, president, Dilbir Foundation and an avid eco-conservationist, said it’s time to understand the significance of wetlands.

“It’s a day to reinvest thought and action into these phenomenal purifiers of water and air, rechargers of carbon, hosts to hundreds of fellow species — the wetlands. Punjab has Harike, Kanjli, Ropar and Nangal Ramsar sites, recognised for their international significance. Many more such ecosystems such as Shalla Patan, Keshopur, marshes and village ponds are equally important and need conservation,” Singh said during a symbolic run held to mark the World Wetlands Day on Wednesday.

Harike, being an important site for eco-tourism, has seen several attempts by state government to launch tourism projects. In 2020, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had announced Rs15 crore to develop Harike as a hub of eco-tourism. Before this, an amphibious bus, known as a “gharuka”, was introduced in the wetland during the tenure of the former SAD-BJP government as part of eco-tourism activities. Despite many attempts, eco-tourism plans by the government remain unfilled.

Geetanjali Kanwar, coordinator, Aquatic Biodiversity, WWF-India, who has been working with a network of officials to create a connection between wetlands and natives living in surrounding areas, stresses on the need for sustainable and responsible tourism policy to connect people with the wetland.

“One of the most important aspects of our programme here is to connect locals with wetlands and we are doing it through education workshops. WWF India jointly in collaboration with the Punjab Forest, Wildlife Preservation Department, have been conducting workshops for villagers along the Harike wetland to train ‘Wetland Mitr’. We train them on testing water quality and monitor wetland health. We already have a network of 15-17 such ‘Wetland Mitrs’ who are monitoring the Indus River Dolphins and keeping a watch on the flora and fauna,” she said.

WWF-India also runs another educative programme called ‘water school’ around the Beas and the Harike wetland, where schoolchildren are trained and encouraged to explore biodiversity of wetland.

Fact file

• Harike Pattan is among the four Ramsar sites in Punjab
• A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as ‘The Convention on Wetlands’, adopted by UNESCO
• The other Ramsar sites include Kanjli, Ropar and Nangal
• The average migration recorded in Harike during peak season in January is between 1 lakh and 1.25 lakh