Even more disturbing has been the amendment to the east kolkata wetlands conservation and management act 2006, which now empowers the ministers to be at the top of east kolkata wetlands management authority by appropriating power, and can grant permission to build if they consider it appropriate. The east kolkata wetlands and waste recycling region also corecycles the citys solid waste, mainly by the odd population of waste pickers that manually engage in this task at dhapa, the citys garbage dump site, everyday. Jul 08, 2015 the ekw were deemed a ramsar location in 2002, granting the region some international attention. East kolkata wetlands kolkata s unique heritage a presentation to sri sovan chatterjee mayor of kolkata public, endev, disha, prakriti samsad, wwf india wbso. The wonder, threats and battle to preserve it with urbanisation, poor sewage system affecting the livelihood of people and fish production, environmentalists have turned to. On the other hand, the conventional technology options for the treatment of municipal sewage and wastewater have been found to be excessively capital intensive, operationally unreliable and highly energy expensive. Dean urban, advisor may 2008 masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master of environmental management degree in the nicholas school of the environment and earth sciences of duke university 2008.
Dhrubajyoti ghosh is a kolkata based ecologist credited with discovering and documenting the amazing resource recovery features of the east kolkata wetlands. Constitution of east kolkata wetlands management authority 1 the state government shall, with effect from such date as it may, by notification, appoint, constitute an authority to be called the east kolkata wetlands management authority. Recommendations for management planning by kevin taylor dr. East kolkata wetlands newsletter november 2010, volume i. Biodiversity of east kolkata wetland area geosophia part 3. Threats to east kolkata wetlands are threats to kolkata. In this context, the east kolkata wetlands ekw located in the eastern fringes of the city of kolkata, india, is an apt example of the spill over effects of urbanization on adjacent wetlands. The miracle of kolkatas wetlands and one mans struggle. A substantial portion of sewage farms and agricultural land in the east kolkata wetlands has been converted into residential land, a committee constituted by the national green tribunal has.
A ramsar site is a wetland shallow waters which is designated to be of international importance under the convention on wetlands, an. Jun 22, 2016 this is a question that concerned citizens of kolkata are asking themselves today in connection with the famed east kolkata wetlands. Save and sustain the east kolkata wetlands citizens statement march 1, 2017 alarm bells the east kolkata wetlands management and conservation act 2006 has been recently amended to make the environment minister the chairperson of the east kolkata wetlands management authority ekwma. This wetland is the worlds largest organic sewage management. Despite commitments made at the convention, however, wetlands continue to shrink at an alarming rate and get lost to urban expansion.
Adaptive comanagement model for the east kolkata wetlands. East kolkata wetlands wastewater aquaculture, as practised in the east kolkata wetlands, has attracted much international attention as a model system for the reuse of urban wastewater and resource recovery. Biodiversity studies in the east calcutta wetlands have dealt with vascular plant diversity, some common ecological indices computed from the quantitative study of the birds, fin fish and molluscan community of the east calcutta wetlands and the interrelationship between various physico. Dhrubajyoti ghosh, saviour of the east kolkata wetlands. The east kolkata wetlands conservation and management act. Compare this with the city of kolkata which gets its huge volumes of daily sewage. The east kolkata wetlands is a natural wetland, spread over 12,500 ha and is situated to the eastern side of the kolkata city.
East kolkata wetlands face new threats by government the. The east kolkata wetlands, situated in the eastern fringe of kolkata 2225 n to 2240 n latitude and longitude 8820 n to 8835 n is a ramsar site where city sewage and industrial effluents are dumped regularly. While policy development and decisionmaking are vital, there is also a great need to understand the wetlands transition process, taking into account measures for their conservation. East kolkata wetland paper sayan bhattacharya academia. It provides livelihood support to a large, economically. East kolkata wetlands kolkata, west bengal for the period 20072009 and then from 2012 to 2015. The east kolkata wetlands is the biggest ecological asset of the city and a ramsar site. If the maidan is the lungs of kolkata, the east kolkata wetlands may well be described as the kidneys of the city. East kolkata wetlands, a complex of natural and manmade wetlands lying east of the city of kolkata, is the only ramsar site in west bengal. The ekwma was constituted under section 3 of the act, 2006. According to news releases in the media, the new chairperson of the.
T he east kolkata wetlands ekw, located on the eastern fringes of kolkata city is one of the largest assemblages of sewage fed fish ponds spread over an area of 12,500 ha. Discovering the true value of east kolkata wetlands. East kolkata wetlands is the largest wastewater wetlands among the 26ramsar sites ramsar, 20 in india. The east calcutta wetlands, also known as the east kolkata wetlands 22 0 27 n 88 0 27 e, are a complex of natural and humanmade wetlands lying east of the city of calcutta kolkata, west bengal in india. East kolkata wetlands conservation and management act, 2006. At present the multifunctional wetland ecosystem covers approximately 12,500 ha, and is comprised. In an attempt towards such an understanding, this study analyses the ecosocial transformation of the east kolkata wetland ekw. They come from the villages surrounding the dump site. Sewagefed fisheries under private ownership in the east kolkata wetlands. Then, the establishment of the east kolkata wetlands management authority in 2006 led to legal framework establishing the wetlands boundaries and prohibiting new development within that region. Protecting the kidneys of kolkata the east kolkata wetlands. Mar 09, 2016 take the road to the east kolkata wetlands and youre met by a stream of motorbikes towing twowheeled trailers, piled high with vegetables and fat silvery carp and tilapia being lugged from the. This article aims to study the framework of the ramsar convention in detail and study the current situation of the east kolkata wetlands under the protection of the ramsar convention. Challenges in the governance of the east kolkata wetlands status of wise use in east kolkata wetlands while the governance and institutional problems can be solved, the elements of external conflict look much stronger and the threat of real estate is more serious, lurking around for a chance to tighten its grip.
Patrick barkham i interrupt to ask about the ruined building behind us. Functional feeding groups among aquatic insects of the east. The east kolkata wetlands conservation and management. Kolkata wetlands management authority report 2014 to 201516, environment department, g ovt. East kolkata wetlands management authority ekwma the. Development and environment a new study on east kolkata wetlands carbonabsorption abilities is a wakeup call for conservation the wetlands locks in over 60% of carbon from wastewater, which.
In addition, people grow paddy in small plots situated in and around the. This paper attempts to estimate the possible rate of land subsidence of kolkata city including salt lake city and the adjoining east kolkata wetlands located at the lower part of the deltaic alluvial plain of south bengal basin. East kolkata wetlands news latest news on east kolkata. The miracle of kolkatas wetlands and one mans struggle to. East kolkata wetlands kolkatas unique heritage a presentation to sri sovan chatterjee mayor of kolkata public, endev, disha, prakriti samsad, wwf india wbso. East kolkata wetlands management authority ekwma the east. Credited with many fights to save wetlands, including the legal battle that led to the historic calcutta high court judgment in 1992, making the entire 12,500 acre of east kolkata wetlands ekw inviolable, bonani kakkar has led a team of determined and collaborative action of multiple agencies east kolkata wetlands management authority. Urban expansion and wetland shrinkage estimation using a gis.
The ekwma is constituted under section 3 of the act, 2006. Ramsar sites that includes the east kolkata wetlands protected throughthe east kolkata wetlands conservation and management act, 2006. The wetland is a ramsar site and is one of the largest wastewater fed aquaculture system, providing fishing opportunities for the local people. Therefore, in the third phase of water conflict forums work, it decided to support a short study on east kolkata wetlands to understand the present condition of the. A new study on east kolkata wetlands carbonabsorption. As for the east kolkata wetlands, this unique ecosystem impacts the daily lives of people in kolkata and in the region in several ways. A notified ramsar site, this extensive wetland spread over 12,500 ha has been protected for decades by the communities who live within it and by the east kolkata wetlands conservation and management act, 2006. The wetlands cover 125 square kilometers, and include salt marshes and salt meadows, as well as sewage farms and settling ponds. From conflict to coproduction a multistakeholder analysis. Mar, 2017 a proposal by civic authorities to develop another site inside the east kolkata wetlands for solid waste disposal and by the state government to make changes in land use have raised concerns that this remarkable ecosystem may be damaged further. One of the wetlands which provides most of the ecosystem services as designated in the millennium assessment report about wetlands is the east kolkata westlands or ekw. East kolkata wetlands a 360 view project was launched in 2011 with 3 short films created by students at jadavpur university under the guidance of fulbrightnehru visiting lecturer sanjeev chatterjee who is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and professor of electronic media at the school of communication, university of miami in the united states. The east kolkata wetlands conservation and management act, 2006 represents an important landmark as it paved way for establishment of the east kolkata wetlands management authority ekwma for conservation and management of the ekw. Planning for aquatic production in east kolkata wetlands.
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