TradiTional Knowledge and BiodiversiTy - UNU-IAS - United ...

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Monitoring, documentation, protection, and education
The state of Punjab has been left with less than 1% of the
area under wetlands. About 30 wetlands, most of which
are of natural origin, were reported to have existed in the
state. Some, such as Rahon De Chhamb and Bhupinder
Sagar, have already lost their wetland characteristics.
Punjab now has 12 important natural wetlands and nine
manmade wetlands. Harike, Kanjli and Ropar are three
major manmade wetlands that have been recognised as
Wetlands of International Significance (i.e. Ramsar sites).
These wetlands are important habitats for waterfowl,
fish and a diversity of other flora and fauna. Two other
wetlands, namely Ranjit Sagar and Nangal, were declared
as national wetlands in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Ranjit
Sagar is located on the Ravi River and spreads out over
three states, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and
Kashmir. Nangal Lake is located on the Sutlej River a few
kilometers downstream of Gobind Sagar (Bhakhra Dam).
Five wetlands, namely Keshopur Chhamb, Kahnuwan
Chhamb, Jastarwal Jheel, Mand Bharthala and Dholbaha
Reservoir, have been designated as Wetlands of State
Importance owing to their ecological importance.
Keshopur Chhamb has also been declared as a Community
Reserve. It is the first declared Community Reserve of
India, as per Section 36(C) of the Wildlife Protection Act
1972 and as amended in 2003 in which it states “the State
Government may, where the community or an individual
has volunteered to conserve wild life and its habitat,
declare any private or community land not comprised
within a National Park, Sanctuary or a Conservation
Reserve, as a Community Reserve, for protecting fauna,
flora and traditional or cultural conservation values and
practices”. This is managed through a Community Reserve
Management Committee, which consists of members
of the Forest Department and village panchayats within
the state. PSCST has conducted a preliminary survey of
these wetlands and published a number of pamphlets
on the subject. Growing urbanisation, industrialisation
and population have affected the natural environment
and wetland ecosystems. Other identified threats to
these wetlands include a lack of public awareness
around the public’s responsibility for conservation of
these ecosystems; drainage of wetlands for irrigation;
indiscriminate discharge of domestic and industrial
effluents; intensive use of agro chemicals severely affecting
the wetland flora and fauna; siltation of wetlands due to
erosion caused by deforestation; and loss of vegetative
cover particularly around Dholbaha.
To address those threats, various initiatives have been
undertaken, such as:
• Creating small live models of wetlands in schools
around three Ramsar sites, namely Harike, Kanjli
and Ropar;
• Establishing Wetland Education Centres in schools
around state wetlands, i.e. Jastarwal Jheel, Kahnuwan
Chhamb, Keshopur-Miani Jheel, Mand Bharthala and
Dholbaha Reservoir; and
• Organising awareness and capacity building
programmes in schools all over Punjab state.
The state of Punjab has been left
with less than 1% of the area under
wetlands. About 30 wetlands, most
of which are of natural origin, were
reported to have existed in the state.
The RCE partner agencies, namely PSCST, the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF), GoI, Wildlife Institute
of India (WII), Department of Forests and Wildlife
Preservation, Punjab and Department of Education, and
Punjab (including District Education Officers, District
Science Supervisors, and teachers), have collaborated on
these initiatives. The schools around three Ramsar sites
were selected so that young messengers – the students –
could strengthen protection and conservation activities.
The Wetland Education Centres were established and
educational resource materials were created in order to
further capacity building and strengthen the conservation
of small natural wetlands ecosystems through the
involvement of local communities and relating them to the
Ramsar sites. Furthermore, important environmental days
are being celebrated and related educational materials are
being developed in order to increase the awareness about
wetlands conservation. Through this initiative and the
educational processes, a youthful energetic force has been
harnessed to not only create wetlands in their respective
schools but also to spread the message of wetland
conservation to communities for sustainable development.
Planning and Implementation
Under this initiative, the partner agencies PSCST, National
Green Corps (NGC) and National Environment Awareness
Programme of the MoEF mobilised the NGC school
network for wetland conversation by creating awareness
about values and the importance of wetlands. In Punjab,
the NGC school network consists of 5,000 operational Eco-
Clubs. Many of these NGC schools carry out awareness and
action programmes on wetland conservation.
Planner and Snakes and
Ladders game on the wetlands
The NGC schools of Tarn Taran, Kapurthala and Ropar
Districts are located near three important Ramsar sites,
Harike, Kanjli and Ropar, respectively. These schools
were the focus of a special initiative in which school
wetlands were created to serve as live ecological models
to help students better understand the unique and vital
importance of these ecosystems. Funds for the creation
of wetlands were raised with financial support of NGC,
the National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC)
programmes, and from the Global Environment Fund (GEF)
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Small Grants Programme.
The schools constructed wetlands of varying sizes and
depths, depending on the available area. Since these
wetlands were constructed in the schools, the safety of
young children was of the utmost importance; hence, the
depth of these wetlands was kept at less than one metre.
Well-known aquatic plant species, such as water lilies and
lotus, were planted in the school wetlands by the active
participation of students. With the active involvement
of students, these and other rooted floral species were
initially planted in jute baskets half-filled with soil and then
immersed in wetland water. To avoid mosquitoes breeding
in the standing water of school wetlands, fingerlings of
Gambusia gambusia fish, which feed on mosquito larvae,
were released. Students are taking care of these wetlands
and regularly clean them.
In the process of this initiative, Eco-Club teachers-incharge
have been trained as Master Trainers about wetland
issues and provided with interactive multimedia CDs,
brochures and posters on the wetlands of Punjab. Eighty
Master Trainers (four from each district) have been trained
by partner agencies who, in turn, train teachers within
the district. The teachers educate students about the role
of wetlands in biodiversity conservation, ground water
recharge, and related issues. The trained teachers and
students further impart awareness to the communities
about the benefits of these ecosystems.
These initiatives have motivated teachers and students
directly and, through them, local communities are
being approached with various activities, such as the
celebration of World Wetland Day and World Environment
Day. A wetlands yearly planner has been developed
and distributed to network partners and a wetlands
game, based on the Snakes and Ladders game, has been
developed and is played with participants on different
occasions. Furthermore, PSCST, MoEF and WII, are working
in collaboration to distribute equipment such as binoculars
and water testing kits to help increase the interest of
partners at the grassroots level. In addition, the partner
agencies are also in the process of developing signs for
Ramsar sites and life-size models of wetland birds for
state wetlands, in an effort to enhance knowledge about
the wetlands.
Though various initiatives have been undertaken and have
been proven successful, there are still some challenges
to overcome, such as weed infestation, water hyacinth in
the wetlands, and the utilisation of wetland resources for
sustainable livelihoods.
Results
The wetlands established by the Eco-Clubs are used as
teaching facilities by schools to demonstrate features of
an aquatic ecosystem, such as aquatic food chains, aquatic
flora and fauna, and adaptations. These small water bodies
have attracted a number of faunal species like insects
and frogs. In some schools, students have been able to
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