National Wetland Atlas: Kerala - Ministry of Environment and Forests

AtlasSAC/RESA/AFEG/NWIA/ATLAS/14/2010NATIONAL WETLAND ATLASKERALASponsored byMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of IndiaAs a part of the project on National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA)Space Applications Centre (ISRO), AhmedabadandKerala State Remote Sensing & Environment Centre, ThiruvananthapuramFebruary 2010

First Publication: February 2010, Space Applications Centre (ISRO), AhmedabadCopyright:2010, SAC, ISROThis publication may be produced in whole or in part and in any form for education or non-profit uses,without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of source is made. SACwill appreciate a copy of any publication which uses this publication as a source.Citation: National Wetland Atlas: Kerala, SAC/RESA/AFEG/NWIA/ATLAS/14/2010, Space ApplicationsCentre(ISRO), Ahmedabad, India, 130p.Available from:Production:Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad – 380 015, IndiaSAC carried out the work jointly with Kerala State Remote Sensing & Environment Centre,Thiruvananthapuram, Sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India.ii

MESSAGEIt gives me great pleasure to introduce this Atlas, the latest in a series, prepared by Space ApplicationsCentre, Ahmedabad in connection with the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment Project.This Atlas maps and catalogues information on Wetlands across India using the latest in satellite imaging,one of the first of its kind. Wetlands are areas of land critical ecological significance that support a largevariety of plant and animal species adapted to fluctuating water levels. Their identification and protectionbecomes very important.Utility-wise, wetlands directly and indirectly support millions of people in providing services such as food,fiber and raw materials. They play important roles in storm and flood control, in supply of clean water, alongwith other educational and recreational benefits. Despite these benefits, wetlands are the first target ofhuman interference and are among the most threatened of all natural resources. Around 50% of theearth’s wetlands are estimated to already have disappeared worldwide over the last hundred years throughconversion to industrial, agricultural and residential purposes. Even in current scenario, when theecosystem services provided by wetlands are better understood - degradation and conversion of wetlandscontinues.Aware of their importance, the Government of India has formulated several policies and plans for theconservation and preservation of these crucial ecosystems. Realising the need of an updated geospatialdata base of these natural resources as the pre-requisite for management and conservation planning,National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) project was formulated as a joint vision of Ministry ofEnvironment & Forestry, Govt. India, and Space Applications Centre (ISRO). I am told that the latestremote sensing data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS P6) have been used to map the wetlands.The present atlas is part of this project and highlights the results of the study state in terms of statistics ofvarious types of wetlands, extent of water, aquatic vegetation and turbidity in pre and post monsoon period.I also note that special efforts are made to provide detailed information of important wetlands like Ramsarsites, National Parks etc.I am certain that this Atlas will raise the bar in developing such database and will be of great use forresearchers, planners, policy makers, and also members of the general public.iii

FOREWORDWetlands defined as areas of land that are either temporarily or permanently covered by water exhibitenormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry. Wetlandsare one of the most productive ecosystems and play crucial role in hydrological cycle. Utility wise, wetlandsdirectly and indirectly support millions of people in providing services such as storm and flood control, cleanwater supply, food, fiber and raw materials, scenic beauty, educational and recreational benefits. TheMillennium Ecosystem Assessment estimates conservatively that wetlands cover seven percent of the earth’ssurface and deliver 45% of the world’s natural productivity and ecosystem services. However, the veryexistence of these unique resources is under threat due to developmental activities, and population pressure.This calls for a long term planning for preservation and conservation of these resources. An updated andaccurate database that will support research and decision is the first step towards this. Use of advancedtechniques like Satellite remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) is now essential for accurateand timely spatial database of large areas. Space Applications Centre (ISRO) took up this challenging taskunder the project “NWIA” (National Wetland Inventory and Assessment) sponsored by Ministry ofEnvironment & Forests. To account for numerous small yet important wetlands found in the country, mappingat 1:50,000 scales has been taken up. Two date IRS LISS III data acquired during pre and post monsoonseason are used for inventory to account for wet and dry season hydrology of wetlands. The map outputsinclude the status of water spread, aquatic vegetation and turbidity. Ancillary layers like road/rail, habitationsare also created. Very small wetlands below the mappable unit are also identified and shown points. Theresults are complied as Atlases of wetlands for states/Union Territories of India. This Atlas highlights resultsfor a particular state/UT and hopes to improve our understanding of the dynamics and distribution of wetlandsand their status in the area.I congratulate the team for bringing out this informative atlas and sincerely hope that this will serve as auseful source of information to researchers, planners and general public.January 25, 2010v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe project “National Wetland Inventory & Assessment (NWIA)”, is sponsored by Ministry of Environment &Forestry (MoEF), Govt. of India and executed by Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad. We aregrateful to Dr. Ranganath R. Navalgund, Director, Space Applications Centre, for his encouragement to takeup this challenging task and formulation of the project team for timely implementation. Earnest thanks arealso due to Dr. Jai Singh Parihar, Dy. Director, Remote Sensing Applications Area, Space ApplicationsCentre, for providing overall guidance and support to the project. The present Atlas for the state of Kerala is apart of the “National Wetland Atlas.This project has benefited from the wisdom of many people. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the contributionsmade by the wetland experts especially to Prof. C.K. Varshney, Former Dean, School of EnvironmentalSciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Prof. A.R. Yousuf, The University of Kashmir, Srinagar,Prof. Pradeeep Shrivastava, Head, Wetland Research Centre, Barakatullah University, Bhopal, Dr. PrikshitGautam, Director, WWF-India, Dr. S. Narendra Prasad, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature,Coimbtore and Dr. R.K. Suri, Additional Director, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, NewDelhi, and the database experts from ISRO who participated in the peer Review meeting to finalise the“Wetland Classification System” followed in this projectWe acknowledge the positive role played by 16 th SC-B (Standing Committee on Bioresources andEnvironment) of NNRMS (National Natural Resources Management System) meeting in formulating thisproject. We are extremely thankful to the members of the“Steering Committee” of the project, under thechairmanship of Dr E J James, Director – Water Institute, Karunya University, for their periodical review,critical comments and appreciation of the efforts by the project team. We are thankful to SC-B under thechairmanship of Secretary, MoEF, for periodic review of the progress of the project and guidance towardstimely completion of the work. We acknowledge the valuable contributions made by Dr J K Garg, the thenscientist of SAC for his active role in formulation of this project, co-authoring the procedure manual document.We are grateful to Dr G V Subramanyam, Adviser, MoEF, for his very active and positive role forimplementation of the project. We are thankful to Dr Jag Ram, Director, MoEF and Dr Harendra Kharwal,MoEF for their support in budget and project management related issues. We are thankful to the “TechnicalReview” team of SAC for critical comments and suggestion to finalise the Atlas. We acknowledge the supportreceived from Dr P S Roy, Dy Director, NRSC and Dr S Sudhakar, Head, LRD, NRSC in terms of valuablesuggestions and providing the geo-referenced image of NRC-LU&LC project for use as master image in thisproject. We acknowledge the efforts put by Dr R D Shah, Mr Pragnesh Kumar Vaishnav and Ms Yatisha PVaishnav, Geology Department, M G Science Institute, Ahmedabad in finalization of GIS database.vii

PROJECT TEAMProject Director: Dr. (Mrs) Sushma PanigrahySpace Applications Centre, ISRO, AhmedabadShri J. G. PatelDr T. S. SinghKerala State Remote Sensing & Environment Centre, ThiruvananthapuramShri R.P Sharma IFS, DirectorSmt. R.V Sheeja, ScientistShri P. Suresh, ScientistDr. N.C Anilkumar, ScientistShri Suraj . R, ScientistSmt. Suja Alex, Project FellowNational Remote Sensing Centre, HyderabadDr. S. Sudhakarix

CONTENTS1.0 INTRODUCTION1.1 Wetlands1.2 Mapping and geospatial techniques1.3 Wetland Inventory of India2.0 NATIONALWETLAND INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT2.1 Wetland Classification System2.2 GIS database contents3.0 STUDY AREA4.0 DATA USED5.0 METHODOLOGY5.1 Creation of spatial framework5.2 Geo-referencing of satellite data5.3 Mapping of wetlands5.4 Conversion of raster (indices) into a vector layer5.5 Generation of reference layers5.6 Coding and attribute scheme5.7 Map composition and output6.0 ACCURACY ASSESSMENT7.0 WETLANDS OF KERALA: MAPS AND STATISTICS7.1 District-wise Wetland Maps and Statistics7.1.1 Kasaragod7.1.2 Kannur7.1.3 Wayanad7.1.4 Kozhikode7.1.5 Malappuram7.1.6 Palakkad7.1.7 Thrissur7.1.8 Ernakulam7.1.9 Idukki7.1.10 Kottayam7.1.11 Alappuzha7.1.12 Pathanamthitta7.1.13 Kollam7.1.14 Thiruvananthapuram8.0 MAJOR WETLAND TYPES OF KERALA9.0 IMPORTANT WETLANDS OF KERALA10.0 SOI SHEET-WISE WETLAND MAPS (selected sheets)ReferencesAnnexure–I: Definitions of wetland categories used in the project.Annexure–II: Details of district information followed in the atlasList of FiguresFigure 1: Spectral Signature of various targetsFigure 2: Various land features as they appear in four spectral bands and in a typical three band FCC.Figure 3: Location mapFigure 4: Spatial framework of KeralaFigure 5: IRS P6 LISS-III coverage of KeralaFigure 6: IRS LISS-III FCC(Post-monsoon and Pre-monsoon) : Part of Kerala stateFigure 7: Flow chart of the methodology usedxi

Figure 8: Steps in the extraction of wetland componentsFigure 9: Various combinations of the indices/spectral bands used to identify wetland componentsFigure 10: Type-wise wetland distribution in KeralaFigure 11: District-wise graphical distribution of wetlandsList of TablesTable 1: Wetland Classification System and codingTable-2: Satellite data usedTable 3: Qualitative turbidity ratingsTable 4: Area estimates of wetlands in KeralaTable-5: District-wise wetland areaTable 6: Area estimates of wetlands in KasaragodTable 7: Area estimates of wetlands in KannurTable 8: Area estimates of wetlands in WayanadTable 9: Area estimates of wetlands in KozhikodeTable 10: Area estimates of wetlands in MalappuramTable11: Area estimates of wetlands in PalakkadTable 12: Area estimates of wetlands in ThrissurTable 13: Area estimates of wetlands in ErnakulamTable 14: Area estimates of wetlands in IdukkiTable 15: Area estimates of wetlands in KottayamTable 16: Area estimates of wetlands in AlappuzhaTable 17: Area estimates of wetlands in PathanamthittaTable 18: Area estimates of wetlands in KollamTable 19: Area estimates of wetlands in ThiruvananthpuramList of PlatesPlate-1: Major wetland types of KeralaPlate-2a, 2b and 2c: Field photographs and ground truth data of different wetland types in KeralaPlate 3: Location of important wetland sites of KeralaPlate 4: Ashtamudi WetlandPlate 5: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Ashtamudi WetlandPlate 6: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Ashtamudi WetlandPlate 7: Sasthamkotta LakePlate 8 Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Sasthamkotta LakePlate 9: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Sasthamkotta LakePlate 10: Vembanad-kol WetlandPlate 11: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Vembanad-kol WetlandPlate 12: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Vembanad-kol WetlandPlate 13: Parambikulam DamPlate 14: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Parambikulam DamPlate 15: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Parambikulam DamPlate 16: Periyar LakePlate 17 Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Periyar LakePlate 18: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Periyar Lakexii

1.0 INTRODUCTIONIt is increasingly realized that the planet earth is facing grave environmental problems with fast depletingnatural resources and threatening the very existence of most of the ecosystems. Serious concerns are voicedamong scientists, planners, sociologists, politicians, and economists to conserve and preserve the naturalresources of the world. One of the difficulties most frequently faced for decision making is lack of scientificdata of our natural resources. Often the data are sparse or unconvincing, rarely in the form of geospatialdatabase (map), thus open to challenges. Thus, the current thrust of every country is to have an appropriategeospatial database of natural resources that is based on unambiguous scientific methods. The wetland atlasof Kerala, which is part of the National Wetland Atlas of India, is an attempt in this direction.1.1 WetlandsWetlands are one of the crucial natural resources. Wetlands are areas of land that are either temporarily orpermanently covered by water. This means that a wetland is neither truly aquatic nor terrestrial; it is possiblethat wetlands can be both at the same time depending on seasonal variability. Thus, wetlands exhibitenormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominantplants and soil or sediment characteristics. Because of their transitional nature, the boundaries of wetlandsare often difficult to define. Wetlands do, however, share a few attributes common to all forms. Of these,hydrological structure (the dynamics of water supply, throughput, storage and loss) is most fundamental tothe nature of a wetland system. It is the presence of water for a significant period of time which is principallyresponsible for the development of a wetland. One of the first widely used classifications systems, devised byCowardin et al., (1979), was associated to its hydrological, ecological and geological aspects, such as:marine (coastal wetlands including rock shores and coral reefs, estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, andmangrove swamps), lacustarine (lakes), riverine (along rivers and streams), palustarine ('marshy'- marshes,swamps and bogs). Given these characteristics, wetlands support a large variety of plant and animal speciesadapted to fluctuating water levels, making the wetlands of critical ecological significance. Utility wise,wetlands directly and indirectly support millions of people in providing services such as food, fiber and rawmaterials, storm and flood control, clean water supply, scenic beauty and educational and recreationalbenefits. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment estimates conservatively that wetlands cover seven percentof the earth’s surface and deliver 45% of the world’s natural productivity and ecosystem services of which thebenefits are estimated at $20 trillion a year (Source : www.MAweb.org). The Millennium Assessment (MA)uses the following typology to categorise ecosystem services:Provisioning services: The resources or products provided by ecosystems, such as food, raw materials(wood), genetic resources, medicinal resources, ornamental resources (skin, shells, flowers).Regulating services: Ecosystems maintain the essential ecological processes and life support systems, likegas and climate regulation, water supply and regulation, waste treatment, pollination, etc.Cultural and Amenity services: Ecosystems are a source of inspiration to human culture and educationthroughout recreation, cultural, artistic, spiritual and historic information, science and education.Supporting services: Ecosystems provide habitat for flora and fauna in order to maintain biological andgenetic diversity.Despite these benefits, wetlands are the first target of human interference and are among the mostthreatened of all natural resources. Around 50% of the earth’s wetlands is estimated to already havedisappeared worldwide over the last hundred years through conversion to industrial, agricultural andresidential developments. Even in current scenario, when the ecosystem services provided by wetlands arebetter understood - degradation and conversion of wetlands continues. This is largely due to the fact that the‘full value’ of ecosystem functions is often ignored in policy-making, plans and corporate evaluations ofdevelopment projects.1.2 Mapping and Geospatial techniqueTo conserve and manage wetland resources, it is important to have inventory of wetlands and theircatchments. The ability to store and analyse the data is essential. Digital maps are very powerful tools toachieve this. Maps relating the feature to any given geographical location has a strong visual impact. Mapsare thus essential for monitoring and quantifying change over time scale, assist in decision making. Thetechnique used in the preparation of map started with ground survey. The Survey of India (SOI) topographicmaps are the earliest true maps of India showing various land use/cover classes including wetlands. Recentyears have seen advances in mapping technique to prepare maps with much more information. Of particularimportance is the remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technique. Remote sensing is1

now recognized as an essential tool for viewing, analyzing, characterizing, and making decisions about land,water and atmospheric components.From a general perspective, remote sensing is the science of acquiring and analyzing information aboutobjects or phenomena from a distance (Jensen, 1986; Lillesand and Keifer, 1987). Today, we define satelliteremote sensing as the use of satellite borne sensors to observe, measure, and record the electromagneticradiation (EMR) reflected or emitted by the earth and its environment for subsequent analysis and extractionof information. EMR sensors includes visible light, near-, mid- and far-infrared (thermal), microwave, andlong-wave radio energy. The capability of multiple sources of information is unique to remote sensing. Ofspecific advantage is the spectral, temporal, and spatial resolution. Spectral resolution refers to the width orrange of each spectral band being recorded. Since each target affects different wavelengths of incidentenergy differently, they are absorbed, reflected or transmitted in different proportions. Currently, there aremany land resource remote sensing satellites that have sensors operating in the green, red, near infraredand short wave Infra red regions of the electromagnetic spectrum giving a definite spectral signature ofvarious targets due to difference in radiation absorption and reflectance of targets. These sensors are ofcommon use for land cover studies, including wetlands. Figure 1 shows typical spectral signature of fewtargets from green to SWIR region. Converted to image, in a typical false colour composite (FCC) createdusing NIR, red and green bands assigned as red, green and blue colour, the features become very distinct asshown in Figure 2. In FCC, the vegetation thus appears invariably red (due to high reflection in NIR fromgreen leaves).Since the early 1960s, numerous satellite sensors have been launched into orbit to observe and monitor theearth and its environment. Most early satellite sensors acquired data for meteorological purposes. The adventof earth resources satellite sensors (those with a primary objective of mapping and monitoring land cover)occurred, when the first Landsat satellite was launched in July 1972. Currently, more than a dozen orbitingsatellites of various types provide data crucial to improving our knowledge of the earth’s atmosphere, oceans,ice and snow, and land. Of particular interest to India is the indigenous series of satellites called IndianRemote Sensing satellites (IRS-Series). Since the launch of the first satellite IRS 1A in 1987, India has now anumber of satellites providing data in multi-spectral bands with different spatial resolution. IRSP6/RESOURCESAT 1 is the current generation satellite that provides multi-spectral images in spatialresolution of 5.8 m (LISS IV), 23.5 m (LISS III) and 56m (AWiFS). Over the past few decades, Indian remotesensing data has been successfully used in various fields of natural resources ( Navalgund et al. 2002 ).Development of technologies like Geographic Information System (GIS) has enhanced the use of RS data toobtain accurate geospatial database. GIS specialises in handling related, spatially referenced data, combiningmapped information with other data and acts as analytical tool for research and decision making. During thepast few decades, technological advances in the field of satellite remote sensing (RS) sensors, computerizedmapping techniques, global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) hasenhanced the ability to capture more detailed and timely information about the natural resources at variousscales catering to local, regional, national and global level study.Figure 1: Spectral Signature of various targets2

GREENREDNIRNIR RED GREENLISS-III FCCSWIRFigure 2: Various land features as they appear in four spectral bands and in a typical three band FCC.3

1.3 Wetland Inventory of IndiaIndia with its large geographical spread supports large and diverse wetland classes, some of which areunique. Wetlands, variously estimated to be occupying 1-5 per cent of geographical area of the country,support about a fifth of the known biodiversity. Like any other place in the world, there is a looming threat tothe aquatic biodiversity of the Indian wetlands as they are often under a regime of unsustainable humanpressures. Sustainable management of these assets therefore is highly relevant. Realising this, Govt. of Indiahas initiated many appropriate steps in terms of policies, programmes and plans for the preservation andconservation of these ecosystems. India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention for management ofwetland, for conserving their biodiversity and wise use extending its scope to a wide variety of habitats,including rivers and lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves, peatlands, coral reefs, and numerous human-madewetland, such as fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans reservoirs, gravelpits, sewage farms, and canals. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has identified a number of wetlandsfor conservation and management under the National Wetland Conservation Programme and some financialassistance is being provided to State Governments for various conservation activities through approval of theManagement Action Plans. The need to have an updated map database of wetlands that will support suchactions has long been realized.Mapping requires a standard classification system. Though there are many classification systems forwetlands in the world, the Ramsar classification system is the most preferred one. The 1971 RamsarConvention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat is the oldestconservation convention. It owes its name to its place of adoption in Iran. It came into being due to seriousdecline in populations of waterfowl (mainly ducks) and conservation of habitats of migratory waterfowl.Convention provides framework for the conservation and ‘wise use’ of wetland biomes. Ramsar convention isthe first modern global intergovernmental treaty on conservation and wise use of natural resources(www.ramsar.org). Ramsar convention entered into force in 1975. Under the text of the Convention (Article1.1) wetlands are defined as:“areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water thatis static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide doesnot exceed six meters”.In addition, the Convention (Article 2.1) provides that wetlands:“may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine waterdeeper than six meters at low tide lying within the wetlands”.The first scientific mapping of wetlands of India was carried out during1992-93 by Space Applications Centre(ISRO), Ahmedabad, at the behest of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Govt. of India usingremote sensing data from Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS-Series). The mapping was done at1:250,000 scale using IRS 1A LISS-I/II data of 1992-93 timeframe under the Nation-wide Wetland MappingProject. Since, no suitable wetland classification existed for comprehensive inventory of wetlands in thecountry at that time, the project used a classification system based on Ramsar Convention definition ofwetlands. The classification considers all parts of a water mass including its ecotonal area as wetland. Inaddition, fish and shrimp ponds, saltpans, reservoirs, gravel pits were also included as wetlands. Thisinventory put the wetland extent (inland as well as coastal) at about 8.26 million ha. (Garg et al, 1998). Theseestimates (24 categories) do not include rice/paddy fields, rivers, canals and irrigation channels.Further updating of wetland maps of India was carried out by SAC using IRS P6/Resourcesat AWiFS data of2004-05 at 1:250000 scale. In recent years, a conservation atlas has been brought out by Salim Ali Centre forOrnithology and Natural History (SACON, 2004), which provide basic information required by stakeholders inboth wetland habitat and species conservation. Space Applications Centre has carried out many pilot projectsfor development of GIS based wetland information system (Patel et al, 2003) and Lake Information system(Singh et al, 2003).4

2.0 NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT (NWIA) PROJECTRealising the importance of many small wetlands that dot the Indian landscape, it has been unanimously feltthat inventory of the wetlands at 1:50,000 scale is essential. The task seemed challenging in view of the vastgeographic area of our country enriched with diverse wetland classes. Space Applications Centre with itsexperience in use of RS and GIS in the field of wetland studies, took up this challenging task. This is furtherstrengthened by the fact that guidelines to create geospatial framework, codification scheme, data basestructure etc. for natural resources survey has already been well established by the initiative of ISRO undervarious national level mapping projects. With this strength, the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment(NWIA) project was formulated by SAC, which was approved and funded by MoEF.The main objectives of the project are:• To map the wetlands on 1:50000 scale using two date (pre and post monsoon) IRS LISS III digital datafollowing a standard wetland classification system.• Integration of ancillary theme layers ( road, rail, settlements, drainage, administrative boundaries)• Creation of a seamless database of the states and country in GIS environment.• Preparation of State-wise wetland atlasesThe project was initiated during 2007. The first task was to have a classification system that can be used bydifferent types of users while amenable to database. An expert/peer group was formed and the peer reviewwas held at SAC on June 2007 where wetland experts and database experts participated and finalized theclassification system. It was agreed to follow the classification system that has been used for the earlierproject of 1:250,000 scale, with slight modification. Modified National Wetland Classification system forwetland delineation and mapping comprise 19 wetland classes which are organized under a Level IIIhierarchical system. The definition of each wetland class and its interpretation method was finalized. Thetechnical/procedure manual was prepared as the standard guideline for the project execution across thecountry (Garg and Patel, 2007). The present atlas is part of the national level data base and deals with thestate of Kerala.2.1 Wetland Classification SystemIn the present project, Modified National Wetland Classification system is used for wetland delineation andmapping comprising 19 wetland classes which are organized under a Level III hierarchical system (Table 1).Level one has two classes: inland and coastal, these are further bifurcated into two categories as: natural andman-made under which the 19 wetland classes are suitably placed. Two date data pertaining to pre-monsoonand post monsoon was used to confirm the classes. Wetlands put to agriculture use in any of the two datesare not included as wetland class. Definitions of wetland categories used in the project is given in Annexure-I.2.2.1 Spatial Framework and GIS DatabaseThe National Spatial Framework) (NSF) has been used as the spatial framework to create the database(Anon. 2007). The database design and creation standard suggested by NRDB/NNRMS guidelines isfollowed. Feature codification scheme for every input element has been worked out keeping in view thenationwide administrative as well as natural hierarchy (State-district- within the feature class for each of thetheme. All data elements are given a unique name, which are self explanatory with short forms.Following wetland layers are generated for each inland wetland:• Wetland extent: As wetlands encompass open water, aquatic vegetation (submerged, floating andemergent), the wetland boundary should ideally include all these. Satellite image gives a clear signature ofthe wetland extent from the imprint of water spread over the years.• Water spread: There are two layers representing post-monsoon and pre-monsoon water spread during theyear of data acquisition.5

• Aquatic vegetation spread: The presence of vegetation in wetlands provides information about its tropiccondition. As is known, aquatic vegetation is of four types, viz. benthic, submerged, floating, andemergent. It is possible to delineate last two types of vegetation using optical remote sensing data. Aqualitative layer pertaining to presence of vegetation is generated for each season (as manifested on premonsoonand post-monsoon imagery).• Turbidity level of open water: A layer pertaining to a qualitative turbidity rating is generated. Threequalitative turbidity ratings ( low, medium and high) is followed for pre and post-monsoon turbidity of lakes,reservoirs, barrages and other large wetlands.• Small wetlands (smaller than minimum mappable unit) are mapped as point features.• Base layers like major road network, railway, settlements, and surface drainage are created (either fromthe current image or taken from other project data base).In the case of coastal wetlands only wetland extent is given.Table 1: Wetland Classification System and codingWettcode* Level I Level II Level III1000 Inland Wetlands1100 Natural1101 Lakes1102 Ox-Bow Lakes/ Cut-Off Meanders1103 High altitude Wetlands1104 Riverine Wetlands1105 Waterlogged1106 River/stream1200 Man-made1201 Reservoirs/ Barrages1202 Tanks/Ponds1203 Waterlogged1204 Salt pans2000 Coastal Wetlands2100 Natural2101 Lagoons2102 Creeks2103 Sand/Beach2104 Intertidal mud flats2105 Salt Marsh2106 Mangroves2107 Coral Reefs2200 Man-made2201 Salt pans2202 Aquaculture ponds* Wetland type code6

3.0 STUDY AREAKerala is located on the southernmost tip of India and embraces the coast of Arabian Sea on the west and isbounded by the Western Ghats in the east extending from 8 0 17’ and 12 0 48’ north latitude and 74 0 51’ and77 0 20’ east longitude (Figure 3). Kerala also encloses Mahe, Pondicherry’s coastal exclave. With 14 districtsand other cities the total area of Kerala is 38, 916 sq km. This South Indian state stretches from north to southalong the coast line of 580 kms with an approximate breadth of 35 to 120 km.Though small in size, Kerala is a land affluent in water sources. 44 rivers drain the land, of which 41 are westflowing and 3 flow east. Apart from these 44 rivers, their tributaries and distributaries and a countless numberof streams and rivulets crisscross the land making it green and fertile and also serves as inland waterways.Major rivers include Pampa, Periyar, Achenkovil, Manimala, Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy, Valapatanam,Kallayi, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Mogral.Beside these rivers, Kerala is bestowed with a number of lakes and backwater lagoon which add to thebeauty of the land. The important wetlands of Kerala are Ashtamudi Lake, Vembanad Lake and SasthamkottaLake. Vembanad backwater lake is the largest in the state while Sasthamkotta lake is the largest natural freshwater lake. The other important backwaters are Anjengo, Veli, Edava, Kadinakulam, Nadayara, Kayamkulam,Paravoor, Kowai and Chotwa.Kerala has the finest beaches like Kovalam, Shangumugham, Varkala, Cherai, Fort Cochin, Kappad, andBekkel. Reservoirs are the major wetlands that form the source of hydroelectricity. Major reservoirs includeNeyyar,Peppara, Kallar, Kakki, Idukki, and Walayar.Kerala has hot and humid climate during April-May and pleasant, cold climate in December-January. Summerextends from the month of April to June when the temperature reaches to a maximum of 37 0 . Summer isfollowed by Southwest monsoon that starts pouring in the month of June and continues till September. Winterin Kerala lasts from November to January or February. Southwest monsoon and retreating monsoon(Northeast monsoon) are the main rainy seasons. Kerala receives an average rainfall of 118 inches(3,000 mm) annually.The state has fourteen districts and is covered in 86 Survey of India topographical maps on 1:50,000 scalethat form the spatial frame work for mapping (Figure 4). The spatial framework was prepared using 15’ x 15’grid.A detail of district information followed in the atlas is given in Annexure-II.7

Figure 3: Location MapFigure 4: Spatial Framework of Kerala8

5.0 METHODOLOGYThe methodology to create the state level atlas of wetlands is adhered to NWIA technical guidelines andprocedure manual (Garg and Patel, 2007). The overview of the steps used is shown in Figure 7. Salientfeatures of methodology adopted are• Generation of spatial framework in GIS environment for database creation and organisation.• Geo-referencing of satellite data• Identification of wetland classes as per the classification system given in NWIA Manual and mapping ofthe classes using a knowledge based digital classification and onscreen interpretation• Generation of base layers (rail, road network, settlements, drainage, administrative boundaries) fromsatellite image and ancillary data.• Mosaicing/edge matching to create district and state level database.• Coding of the wetlands following the standard classification system and codification as per NWIAmanual.• Preparation of map compositions and generation of statistics• Outputs on A3 size prints and charts for atlas.Work was carried out using ERDAS Imagine, Arc/Info and Arcgis softwares.5.1 Creation of spatial frameworkThis is the most important task as the state forms a part of the national frame work and is covered in multiplemap sheets. To create NWIA database, NNRMS/NRDB standards is followed and four corners of the1:50,000 (15’ x 15’) grid is taken as the tics or registration points to create each map taking master grid as thereference. Spatial framework details are given in NWIA manual (Garg and Patel 2007). The spatial frameworkfor Kerala state is shown in Figure 4.5.2 Geo-referencing of satellite dataIn this step the raw satellite images were converted to specific map projection using geometric correction.This is done using archived geometrically corrected LISS III data (ISRO-NRC-land use / land cover project ).Standard image processing software was used for geo-referencing. First one date data was registered withthe archived image. The second date data was then registered with the first date data.5.3 Mapping of wetlandsThe delineation of wetlands through image analysis forms the foundation for deriving all wetland classes andresults. Consequently, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on the quality of the image Interpretation. Inthe present study, the mapping of wetlands was done following digital classification and onscreen visualinterpretation. Wetlands were identified based on vegetation, visible hydrology and geography. There arevarious methods for extraction of water information from remote sensing imagery, which according to thenumber of bands used, are generally divided into two categories, i.e. Single-band and multi-band methods.Single-band method usually involves choosing a band from multi-spectral image to distinguish water fromland by subjective threshold values. It may lead to over- or under-estimation of open water area. Multi-bandmethod takes advantage of reflective differences of each band. In this project, five indices known in literaturethat enhances various wetland characteristics were used (McFeetres, 1986; Xu Hanqiu, 2006; Lacaux et al,2007; Townshend and Justice, 1986; Tucker and Sellers, 1986) as given below:i) Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) = (Green-NIR) / (Green + NIR)ii) Modified Normalised Difference Water Index (MNDWI) = (Green-MIR) / (Green + MIR)iii) Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) = (NIR - Red) / (NIR + Red)iv) Normalised Difference Pond Index (NDPI) = (MIR – Green / MIR + Green)v) Normalised Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) = (Red – Green) / (Red + Green)10

December 7, 2006January 5, 2007Figure 6: IRS LISS-III FCC: Part of Kerala state11

IRS P6 LISS IIIpre and post-monsoon dataSpatial frame workLegacy dataAdmin. Boundaries(State, District)Geo-referenced imagesOn-screen interpretation/Digital analysisSOI topographic mapsGround truthMorphometric(Wetland extent)Physical(Wetland type)Biological(Wetland vegetation)Base layers(Road, Settlement, drainage)Quality CheckGIS DATABASE(Wetland layers, Base layers)NWIA Database Organisation(District, State, Country)Accuracy Assessment/Quality CheckAnalysisAtlases/ReportFigure 7: Flow chart of the methodology usedFigure 8: Steps in the extraction of wetland components13

Open waterMNDWI NDPI NDVIUseful for wetland boundary extraction/delineationG R NIRVegetationNDWI NDVI NDPIUseful for wetland vegetation & open water featuresG R SWIRModerateIRS LISS III data, 07 January, 2007MNDWI MNDWI NDTIUseful for qualitative turbidity delineationFigure 9: Various combinations of the indices/spectral bands used to identify wetland components15

MAPS AND STATISTICS17

7.0 WETLANDS OF KERALA: MAPS AND STATISTICSArea estimates of various wetland categories for Kerala have been carried out using GIS layers of wetlandboundary, water-spread, aquatic vegetation and turbidity. In the state of Kerala 1762 wetlands have beendelineated. In addition, 2592 wetlands smaller than 2.25 ha have also been identified. Total wetland areaestimated is 160590 ha (Table 4). The major wetland types are River/Stream (65162 ha), Lagoons (38442 ha),Reservoirs (26167 ha) and waterlogged (20305 ha). Graphical distribution of wetland type is shown inFigure 10.Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 88 and 83 percent of wetland area is under open water category during post monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 8 and 6 per cent of wetland area during post and premonsoonrespectively.Table 4: Area estimates of wetlands in KeralaArea in haSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaOpen WaterPremonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1101 Lakes/Ponds 3 2643 1.65 2259 21252 1104 Riverine wetlands 18 410 0.26 410 4103 1105 Waterlogged 922 20305 12.64 11495 77714 1106 River/Stream 172 65162 40.58 61853 603381200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made5 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 39 26167 16.29 24583 234216 1202 Tanks/Ponds 439 2435 1.52 1466 530Total - Inland 1593 117122 72.93 102066 945952100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural7 2101 Lagoons 39 38442 23.94 36819 357968 2102 Creeks 19 80 0.05 77 779 2103 Sand/Beach 111 2354 1.47 0 0Total - Coastal 169 40876 25.45 36896 35873Sub-Total 1762 157998 98.39 138962 130468Wetlands (

7.1 DISTRICT-WISE WETLAND MAPS AND STATISTICSThe state has fourteen districts. District-wise distribution of wetlands showed that four districts can be calledas wetland rich. Alappuzha has highest concentration with 26079 ha area under wetland. This is mainly due tothe location of the famous Vembnad kol wetland. The other three districts are Ernakulam (25065 ha), Kollam(13703 ha) and Thrissur (13285 ha). Wayanad district has the lowest area under wetland (3866 ha). Districtwisewetland area estimate is given in Table-5. Figure 11 shows district-wise graphical distribution ofwetlands.Wetland statistics followed by wetland map and corresponding satellite data for each district is given to have afairly good idea about the distribution pattern and density of wetlands in the district.Table-5: District-wise wetland areaGeographic Wetland% of districtSr.% of totalDistrictArea AreageographicNo.wetland area(sq. km) (ha)area1 Kasaragod 1961 7561 4.71 3.862 Kannur 2997 10870 6.77 3.633 Wayanad 2132 3866 2.41 1.814 Kozhikode 2345 7690 4.79 3.285 Malappuram 3548 9511 5.92 2.686 Palakkad 4480 11892 7.41 2.657 Thrissur 3032 13285 8.27 4.388 Ernakulam 2408 25065 15.61 10.419 Idukki 4998 10655 6.63 2.1310 Kottayam 2204 9523 5.93 4.3211 Alappuzha 1256 26079 16.24 20.7612 Pathanamthitta 2731 4948 3.08 1.8113 Kollam 2579 13703 8.53 5.3114 Thiruvananthapuram 2192 5942 3.70 2.71Total 38863 160590 100.003000025000Wetland Area (ha)20000150001000050000KasaragodKannurWayanadKozhikodeMalappuramPalakkadThrissurErnakulamIdukkiKottayamAlappuzhaPathanamthittaKollamThiruvananthapuramDistrictsFigure 11: District-wise graphical distribution of wetlands20

7.1.1 KasaragodThis is the northern most district of Kerala and is named after Kasaragod Town which is the administrativeheadquarters of the district. To its south lies Kannur District and to the north the Dakshina Kannada district ofKarnataka state. The total geographic area of Kasaragod district is 1961 sq km. The district has Arabian seato the west and Western ghats to the east. Kasaragod lies between latitudes 12° 2′ to 12° 48′ N to logitudes74°51′ to 75° 26’ East. It has an average elevation of 19 metres (62 feet). As of 2001 India census,Kasaragod had a population of 12,04,078. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%.Kasaragod has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is82%, and female literacy is 76%.The wetland area estimated is 7561 ha which includes 146 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details of the wetlandstatistics of the district is given in Table 6. The major wetland types are river/stream, lagoons and sand/beach.Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 87 and 80percent of wetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 2 and 1 per cent of wetland area during post-and premonsoonrespectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderate turbidityprevail.Table 6: Area estimates of wetlands in KasaragodArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 25 155 2.05 57 302 1106 River/Stream 55 5007 66.22 4751 42441200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1202 Tanks/Ponds 8 35 0.46 1 1Total - Inland 88 5197 68.73 4809 42752100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural4 2101 Lagoons 1 1775 23.48 1632 16265 2103 Sand/Beach 14 443 5.86 0 0Total - Coastal 15 2218 29.33 1632 1626Sub-Total 103 7415 98.07 6441 5901Wetlands (

7.1.2 KannurKannur town is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name Kannur. The total geographic area ofKannur district is 2,997 sq km, has an urban population of 12,12,898, which is the second largest in Keralaafter Ernakulam district with 50% of its residents living in urban agglomerations and total population of23,87,468 (2001 census). Literacy as per the 2001 census is put at 88.61%. The district lies between latitudes11° 40' to 12° 48' North and longitudes 74° 52' to 76° 07' East. Six rivers drain Kannur district, the longestbeing the Valapattanam river with a length of 110 km. Other rivers flowing through the district are Kuppam,Mahe River, Anjarakandi, Thalassery, Ramapuram and district has several beaches, some of which arePayyambalam , Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach, Dharmadam Island.The wetland area estimated is 10870 ha which includes 57 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) in the district. Detailsare given in Table 7. The major wetland types are River/Stream, waterlogged, lagoons and riverine wetlands.Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 85 and 83percent of wetland area is under open water category during post monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 11 and 6 per cent of wetland area during post andpre-monsoon respectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderateturbidity prevail.Table 7: Area estimates of wetlands in KannurArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1104 Riverine Wetlands 14 316 2.91 316 3162 1105 Waterlogged 67 1544 14.20 384 2103 1106 River/Stream 55 7590 69.83 7444 74001200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made4 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 1 553 5.09 543 5445 1202 Tanks/Ponds 9 66 0.61 38 45Total - Inland 146 10069 92.63 8725 85152100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural6 2101 Lagoons 2 434 3.99 433 4337 2103 Sand/Beach 20 310 2.85 0 0Total - Coastal 22 744 6.84 433 433Sub-Total 168 10813 99.48 9158 8948Wetlands (

7.1.3 WayanadWayanad district stands on the southern top of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is the majestic ruggedterrain of the Western ghats, with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep valleys.Quite a large area of the district is covered by forest but the continued and indiscriminate exploitation of thenatural resources point towards an imminent environmental crisis. The total geographic area of Wayanaddistrict is 2132 sq km, has a population of of 7,73,924 (2001 census). The Kabini River, one of the three eastflowing rivers of Kerala, is an important tributary of the Kaveri River. Almost the entire Wayanad district isdrained by Kabini and its three tributaries, the Panamaram, Mananthavady, and Kalindy rivers. The BanasuraSagar Dam is built on one of tributaries of the Kabini River.The wetland area estimated is 3866 ha. which includes 36 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details are given inTable 8. The major wetland types are River/Stream, tanks/ponds and lagoons. Analysis of wetland status interms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 92 and 84 percent of wetland area is underopen water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquatic vegetation(floating/emergent) occupies around 9 and 4 per cent of wetland area during post and pre-monsoonrespectively.Table 8: Area estimates of wetlands in WayanadArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 4 10 0.26 6 02 1106 River/Stream 17 1837 47.52 1822 17411200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 2 1946 50.34 1650 14834 1202 Tanks/Ponds 14 37 0.96 30 0Sub-Total 37 3830 99.07 3508 3224Wetlands (

7.1.5 MalappuramMalappuram District district lies in northern Kerala, and is bounded on the north by Wayanad and Kozhikkodedistricts, on the northeast by Tamil Nadu, on the southeast and south by Palakkad District, on the southwestby Thrissur District, on the west by the Arabian Sea, and on the northwest by Kozhikode District The totalgeographic area of Malappuram district is 3,548 sq km, has a population of 36,29,640 (2001 census). Themale: female ratio of 1063 females for every 1000 males (higher than the state average of 1058 females for1000 males). Four important rivers of Kerala, flow through Malappuram district. They are Chaliyar (Beyporeriver), Kadalundipuzha, Bharathapuzha and Tirurpuzha. Chaliyar has a length of 169 km and originates fromIllambalieri hills in Tamilnadu, important tributaries of this river are Chalipuzha, Punnapuzha, Pandiyar,Karimpuzha, Cherupuzha and Vadapurampuzha. Chaliyar traverses through Nilambur, Mampad, Edavanna,Areekade, Vazhakkad and flows into the sea at Beypore in Kozhikode district. Kadalundipuzha is formed bythe confluence of two rivers, the Olipuzha and Veliyar. Olipuzha originates form Cherakomban hill and Veliyarfrom Erattakomban hill. They flow through the Silent Valley and traverse through Ernad and Valluvanadregions, before flowing into the sea at Kadalundi Nagaram. It passes through places like Melattur, Pandikkad,Malappuram, Pankkad, Parappur, Kooriyad and Tirurangadi. Kadalundipuzha has a circuit course of 130 km.Of these rivers, only Chaliyar is perennial. The other rivers dry up in summer. This is one of the reasons thatMalappuram district is prone to draught.The wetland area estimated is 9511 ha. Small wetlands, which are less than minimum mapable units, are 175in the district. Details are given in Table 10. The major wetland types are River/Stream, Waterlogged andlagoons.Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 73 and 63 percent of wetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 10 and 11 per cent of wetland area during post andpre-monsoon respectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderateturbidity prevail.Table 10: Area estimates of wetlands in MalappuramArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 46 832 8.75 366 1062 1106 River/Stream 65 6979 73.38 5715 56791200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1202 Tanks/Ponds 35 232 2.44 49 2Total - Inland 146 8043 84.57 6130 57872100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural4 2101 Lagoons 1 1012 10.64 721 1195 2103 Sand/Beach 12 281 2.95 0 0Total - Coastal 13 1293 13.59 721 119Sub-Total 159 9336 98.16 6851 5906Wetlands (

7.1.6 PalakkadPalakkad district is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state in South India. The city of Palakkad is the districtheadquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram district and on the southwest by theThrissur district. To the east lies the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu. It is a predominantly rural district.Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. The totalgeographic area of Palakkad district is 4480 km² which is 11.5% of the state's area and has a population of26,17,232 (2001 census). The district is nicknamed "the granary of Kerala". The Bharatha Puzha riveroriginates in the Palakkad Gap from rivulets and tributaries feeding from steep escarpment slopes along theflanks of Palakkad Gap is a 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles) wide low mountain pass in the Western Ghats,near Palakkad town in the South Indian State of Kerala. Most parts of the district fall in the midland region(elevation 75–250 m), except the Nelliampathy-Parambikulam area in the Chittur taluk in the south andAttappadi-Malampuzha area in the north, which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation >250 m).Some of the notable peaks in the district are Anginda (2325 m), Karimala (1998 m), Nellikotta or Padagiri(1585 m) and Karimala Gopuram (1439 m).The climate is hot and humid for most part of the year. The districtis blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number ofdams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha dam. The largest in volume capacityis the Parambikulam Dam.The wetland area estimated is 11892 ha. which includes 722 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details are given inTable 11. The major wetland types are River/Stream, Reservoirs/Barrages and tanks/ponds. Analysis ofwetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 89 and 81 percent ofwetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquaticvegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 2 and 1 per cent of wetland area during post and premonsoonrespectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderate turbidityprevail.Table 11: Area estimates of wetlands in PalakkadArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 14 245 2.06 93 52 1106 River/Stream 29 5270 44.32 4216 42171200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 11 5477 46.06 5384 47714 1202 Tanks/Ponds 73 178 1.50 284 60Sub-Total 127 11170 93.93 9977 9053Wetlands (

7.1.7 ThrissurThrissur district is situated in the central region of the state of Kerala. The total geographic area of Thrissurdistrict is 3,032 sq km, has a population of 29,74,024 (2001 census). Males constitute 48.6% and femalesconstitute 51.4% of the total population.The wetland area estimated is 13285 ha. Small wetlands, which are less than minimum mapable units, are271 in the district. Details are given in Table 12. The major wetland types are River/Stream,Reservoirs/Barrages, Waterlogged and sand/beach. Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water andaquatic vegetation showed that around 84 and 69 percent of wetland area is under open water categoryduring post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around12 and 5 per cent of wetland area during post and pre-monsoon respectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis ofthe open water showed that low and moderate turbidity prevail.Table 12: Area estimates of wetlands in ThrissurArea in haSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaOpen WaterPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 126 2990 22.51 1668 5602 1106 River/Stream 26 6451 48.56 6108 59671200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 7 3027 22.79 2988 24294 1202 Tanks/Ponds 91 294 2.21 184 14Total - Inland 250 12762 96.06 10948 89702100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural5 2101 Lagoons 1 4 0.03 0 06 2103 Sand/Beach 7 248 1.87 0 0Total - Coastal 8 252 1.90 0 0Sub-Total 258 13014 97.96 10948 8970Wetlands (

7.1.8 ErnakulamThe total geographic area of Ernakulam district is 2,408 sq km, has a population of 30,36,009 (2001 census).District can be divided geographically into highland with altitude of about 300 m, midland, low land with 20percent of the total area region and coastal area. is. The midland consists mainly of plain land having naturalfacilities of drainage via backwaters and canals. The hilly or eastern portion is formed by a section of WesternGhats. Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalm and Aluva can be called the highlands.The borders of the district arethe Arabian Sea in the west, Thrissur District in the north, Idukki District in the east, and Alappuzha andKottayam districts in the south. The Periyar River, Kerala's second longest river, flows through all the taluksexcept Muvattupuzha. The Muvattupuzha River and a branch of Chalakkudy River also flow through thedistrict. Muvattupuzha and Periyar are the main rivers of which the latter flows through Thodupuzha,Muvattupuzha, Aluva, Kunnathunadu and Parur taluks. During rainy season these rivers are full and heavyfloods affect the low-lying areas on the banks, but in the summer season they generally go dry and narrow.The Periyar is stretched over a length of 229 km.The wetland area estimated is 25065 ha. which includes 133 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) in the district. Detailsare given in Table 13. The major wetland types are River/Stream, Reservoirs/Barrages, Waterlogged andLagoons. Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 94 and91 percent of wetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 5 and 6 per cent of wetland area during post and premonsoonrespectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderate turbidityprevail.Table 13: Area estimates of wetlands in ErnakulamArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPremonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 145 4662 18.60 3628 34262 1106 River/Stream 44 8729 34.83 8683 85671200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 2 3448 13.76 3361 32744 1202 Tanks/Ponds 18 84 0.34 66 2Total - Inland 209 16923 67.52 15738 152692100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural5 2101 Lagoons 8 7898 31.51 7593 75076 2103 Sand/Beach 4 111 0.44 0 0Total - Coastal 12 8009 31.95 7593 7507Sub-Total 221 24932 99.47 23331 22776Wetlands (

7.1.9 IdukkiThe total geographic area of Idukki district is 4,998 sq km and is the second largest District of Kerala withtotal population of 11,28,205 (2001 census). Rugged mountains and forests cover about 97 per cent of thetotal area of the district. The district borders Pathanamthitta to the south, Kottayam to the southwest,Ernakulam to the northwest and Thrissur to the north and Coimbature, Dindigul and Theni districts inTamilnadu to the east. Anamudi, the highest peak is in the Kuttampuzha Panchayat of Adimali Block, in theK.D.H Village of Devikulam taluk. 13 other peaks in the district exceed a height of 2,000 m (6,562 ft). ThePeriyar, Thodupuzhayar and Thalayar are the important rivers of the district. Idukki the hilly district of the state,has many unique topographical and geographical characteristics. It is also known spice bowl of South India.The wetland area estimated is 10655 ha. which includes 92 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) in the district. Detailsare given in Table 14. The major wetland types are River/Stream, Reservoirs/Barrages, and Lakes/Ponds.Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 96 and 93percent of wetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively.Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 5 and 1 per cent of wetland area during post and premonsoonrespectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderate turbidityprevail.Table 14: Area estimates of wetlands in IdukkiArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofwetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPre-MonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1101 Lakes/Ponds 1 2042 19.16 1658 15252 1105 Waterlogged 7 25 0.23 25 163 1106 River/Stream 34 2776 26.05 2770 27691200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made4 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 7 5613 52.68 5550 55005 1202 Tanks/Ponds 29 107 1.00 93 6Sub-Total 78 10563 99.14 10096 9816Wetlands (

7.1.10 KottayamThe district has its headquarters at Kottayam town and lies between latitudes 9.36° N and longitudes 76.17°E. The total geographic area of Kottayam district is 2,204 sq km. Bordered by the Western Ghats on the eastand the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west, Kottayam has many uniquecharacteristics. Panoramic backwater stretches, lush paddy fields, highlands, hills and hillocks, rubberplantations. Kottayam town is situated in the basin of the Meenachil River which is formed from severalstreams in the Western Ghats in Idukki district. It flows through Kottayam district and joins Vembanad Lake. Itis the first district to achieve highest literacy rate in the whole of India. The district is 15.35% urbanised. As of2001 India census, Kottayam Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,72,878, while Kottayam district hada population of 19,52,901. It is one of the very few places which witnessed a negative population growth from1991 to 2001. This district has marked lowest decadal population growth rates of 6.76% compared to 9.42%for Kerala.The wetland area estimated is 9523 ha. which includes 66 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details are given inTable 15. The major wetland types are Lagoons, River/Stream and Waterlogged. Analysis of wetland statusin terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 96 and 95 percent of wetland area is underopen water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquatic vegetation(floating/emergent) occupies around 4 and 1 per cent of wetland area during post and pre-monsoonrespectively.Table 15: Area estimates of wetlands in KottayamArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPremonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 60 405 4.25 54 742 1106 River/Stream 24 3826 40.18 3824 38001200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1202 Tanks/Ponds 18 30 0.00 21 0Total - Inland 102 4261 44 3899 38742100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural4 2101 Lagoons 3 5196 54.56 5187 5168Total - Coastal 3 5196 54.56 5187 5168Sub-Total 105 9457 99 9086 9042Wetlands (

7.1.11 AlappuzhaAlappuzha, also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha district of Kerala state. A town with canals,backwaters, beaches, and lagoons. Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala with the unending stretch of paddy fields,small streams and canals with lush green coconut palms, was well known even from the early periods of theSangam age. The total geographic area of Alappuzha district is 1,256 sq km. As of 2001 India census,Alappuzha had a population of 20,63,491. Alappuzha has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than thenational average of 59.5%. It has the highest population density among all districts of the state. The city islocated between 9.50° North Latitude and 76.33° East Longitude. The geography of Alappuzha is diverse.Alleppey is gifted with immense natural beauty with the Arabian sea on its west. The city has a vast network oflakes, lagoons and fresh water rivers.The wetland area estimated is 26079 ha. which includes 129 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details are given inTable 16. The major wetland types are Lagoons, Waterlogged, River/Stream and Tanks/Ponds. Analysis ofwetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 84 and 76 percent ofwetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquaticvegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 16 and 10 per cent of wetland area during post and premonsoonrespectively. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water showed that low and moderate turbidityprevail.Table 16: Area estimates of wetlands in AlappuzhaArea in haOpen WaterSr.No.WettcodeWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaPostmonsoonAreaPremonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1105 Waterlogged 223 7753 29.73 4443 28342 1106 River/Stream 25 4558 17.48 4546 44451200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made3 1202 Tanks/Ponds 25 476 1.83 211 166Total - Inland 273 12787 49.03 9200 74452100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural4 2101 Lagoons 16 13017 49.91 12496 122485 2102 Creeks 14 62 0.24 60 606 2103 Sand/Beach 5 84 0.32 0 0Total - Coastal 35 13163 50.47 12556 12308Sub-Total 308 25950 99.51 21756 19753Wetlands (

6.1.14 ThiruvananthpuramTrivandrum is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the ThiruvananthapuramDistrict. The district is situated between North latitudes at 8°17’ to 8°54’ and East longitudes 76°41’ to 77°17’.The district stretches 78 km along the shores of the Arabian Sea on the West, Kollam district lies on the Northwith Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu on the East and South respectively. The district ischaracterized by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills and busy commercial alleys. The total geographicarea of Thiruvananthapuram district is 2,192 sq km with a population of 32,34,356. as per the 2001 census,Among the three rivers in the district, the Neyyar (56 km), the southernmost river of the Kerala state, has itsorigin in the Agasthyamala, the second highest peak in the Western Ghats. Karamana river (67 km) originatesfrom Vayuvanthol (vazhuvanthol), another mountain in Western Ghats and the Vamanapuram River have theirorigin from Chemunji Mottai of the Western Ghats. There are 10 major back waters in the district. The majorones are Veli, Kadinamkulam, Anchuthengu(Anjengo), Kaappil, Akathumuri and the Edava-Nadayara. Besidesthese, there is a fresh water lake at Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram taluk, which has the potential to becomethe major water sources of the Thiruvanthapuram city in future.The wetland area estimated is 5942 ha. which includes 385 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha). Details are given inTable 19. The major wetland types are Lagoons, River/Stream, Reservoirs/Barrages, Waterlogged andSand/Beach. Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation showed that around 79and 73 percent of wetland area is under open water category during post-monsoon and pre-monsoonrespectively. Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 9 and 5 per cent of wetland area duringpost and pre-monsoon respectively.Sr.No.WettcodeTable 19: Area estimates of wetlands in ThiruvananthpuramWetland CategoryNumberofWetlandsTotalWetlandArea% ofwetlandareaArea in haOpen WaterPostmonsoonAreaPremonsoonArea1100 Inland Wetlands - Natural1 1101 Lakes/Ponds 1 247 4.16 247 2462 1105 Waterlogged 14 41 0.69 24 253 1106 River/Stream 24 1590 26.76 1506 12321200 Inland Wetlands -Man-made4 1201 Reservoirs/Barrages 4 1501 25.26 1199 12315 1202 Tanks/Ponds 51 104 1.75 41 22Total - Inland 94 3483 58.62 3017 27562100 Coastal Wetlands - Natural6 2101 Lagoons 19 1531 25.77 1392 13247 2103 Sand/Beach 15 543 0.00 0 0Total - Coastal 34 2074 34.90 1392 1324Sub-Total 128 5557 93.52 4409 4080Wetlands (

MAJOR WETLAND TYPES81

8.0 MAJOR WETLAND TYPES OF KERALAMajor wetland types observed in the state are Rivers, Lagoons and Reservoirs. Details are given in Plate-1.Ground truth data was collected for selected wetland sites. The standard Performa was used to record thefield data. Field photographs are also taken to record the water quality (subjective), status of aquaticvegetation and water spread. The location of the features was recorded using GPS. Field photographs ofdifferent wetland types are shown in Plates 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d.CCBABASouthern Part of Kerala(IRS P6 LISS-III FCC, January 5, 2007)Southern Part of Kerala(MNDWI NDPI NDVI from LISS-III data)A :River/StreamB :LagoonsC :ReservoirsPlate - 1: Major wetland types of Kerala83

Sr. No.1.Wetland Type: LagoonLocation:Longitude: 76 0 24’ 2.56” ELatitude : 09 0 40’ 25.27” NTurbidity: LowDescriptionAquatic vegetation: AbsentField photograph2.Wetland Type: Reservoir/BarrageLocation:Longitude: 76 0 45’ 54.26” ELatitude : 10 0 35’ 36.27” NTurbidity: Low3.Wetland Type: Sand/BeachLocation:Longitude : 75 0 52’ 4.39” ELatitude : 10 0 58’ 37021” NTurbidity: NAAquatic Vegetation: NA4.Wetland Type: LakeLocation:Longitude: 76 0 59’ 34.72” ELatitude : 08 0 25’ 43.56” NTurbidity: LowAquatic vegetation: PresentPlate 2a: Field photographs and ground truth data of different wetland types in Kerala84

Sr. No.5.Wetland Type: PondLocation:Longitude: 76 0 19’ 2.90” ELatitude : 09 0 46’ 5.58” NTurbidity: LowDescriptionAquatic vegetation: PresentField photograph6.Wetland Type: RiverLocation:Longitude: 74 0 57’ 19.45” ELatitude : 12 0 33’ 36.65” NTurbidity: Moderate7.Wetland Type: Riverine WetlandLocation:Longitude : 76 0 01’ 11.61” ELatitude : 10 0 50’ 31.89” NTurbidity: ModerateAquatic Vegetation: Present8.Wetland Type: WaterloggedLocation:Longitude: 76 0 40’ 58.81” ELatitude : 09 0 18’ 53.79” NTurbidity: ModerateAquatic Vegetation: PresentPlate 2b: Field photographs and ground truth data of different wetland types in Kerala85

Sr. No.9Wetland Type- RiverLocation-Longitude : 76º48´29.16“ELatitude: 9º15´40.43“NTurbidity- HighDescriptionField photograph10.Wetland Type- Pond/TankLocation-Longitude : 77º3´18.14“ELatitude: 9º57´42.18“NTurbidity- Low11.Wetland Type- LagoonLocation-Longitude: 75º58´43.24“ELatitude:10º45´50.36“NAquatic Vegetation- Present(Weeds, Lotus)12.Wetland Type- WaterloggedLocation-Longitude : 76º42´13.96“ELatitude : 9º19´16.49“NAquatic Vegetation: Present(Weeds, Lotus)Plate 2c: Field photographs and ground truth data of different wetland types in Kerala86

IMPORTANT WETLANDS OF KERALA87

9.1 Ashtamudi WetlandPlate 4: Ashtamudi wetland90

Plate 5: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Ashtamudi wetland91

Plate 6: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Ashtamudi wetland93

9.2 Sasthamkotta LakePlate 7: Sasthamkotta Lake94

Plate 8: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Sasthamkotta Lake95

Plate 9: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Sasthamkotta Lake97

9.3 Vembanad-kol WetlandPlate 10: Vembanad-kol Wetland98

Plate 11: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Vembanad-kol Wetland99

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Plate 12: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Vembanad-kol Wetland101

9.4 Parambikulam DamName: Parambikilam DamLocation:Latitude : 10º 21´ 36“ N to 10º 24´ 31“ NLongitude: 76º 45´ 51“ E to 76º 50´ 54“ ELocated in Palakkad district, KeralaArea: 1762 haWetland type: ReservoirAverage Annual Rainfall:2590 mm, mostly occurring during Juneto SeptemberPost-monsoon data (2006)Description:The reservoir is located within theParambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. Theterrain around the reservoir is hilly andthe elevation varies from 459 m to 1439m. The area was declared a WildlifeSanctuary in 1962. The reservoir meets apart of the water needs of Tamil Nadustate.The turbidity of lake water is low.Pre-monsoon data (2007)Plate 13: Parambikulam Dam102

Plate 14: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Parambikulam103

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Plate 15: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Parambikulam Dam105

9.5 Periyar LakeName: Periyar LakeLocation:Latitude : 9º 28´ 35“ N to 9º 35´ 38“ NLongitude: 77º 8´ 16“ E to 77º 17´ 20“ ELocated in Iddukki district in the SouthernGhats, KeralaArea: 2041 haWetland type: ReservoirAverage Annual Rainfall:3000 mm, mostly occurring during Juneto SeptemberPost-monsoon data (2006)Description:A large water storage reservoir formedby a dam on the Periyar river. Thereservoir receives inflow from numerousperennial creeks from the surroundingforests, and has a highly indentedshoreline. The surrounding hills arecovered in tropical evergreen anddeciduous forest interspersed with areasof grassland and Eucalyptus plantations.The Reservoir is protected in the PeriyarWildlife Sanctuary. There are excellentfacilities for tourists, including a largehotel by the lake and another on anisland; boats are available for wildlifeviewing.The turbidity of lake water is moderate.Pre-monsoon data (2007)Plate 16: Periyar Lake106

Plate 17: Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of periyar Lake107

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Plate 18: IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of periyar Lake109

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SOI MAP SHEET-WISE WETLAND MAPS(Selected)111

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REFERENCES1. Anon. 2005, NNRMS Standards. A National Standards for EO images, thematic & cartographicmaps, GIS databases and spatial outputs. ISRO:NNRMS: TR:112:2005. A Committee Report:National Natural Resources Management System, Bangalore2. Anon. 1993. Directory of Indian Wetlands, 1993. WWF India, New Delhi and AWB Kuala Limpur,xvi+264pp., 32 maps.3. Clark, John R. (1977). Coastal Ecosystem Management, A Wiley Interscience Publication, JohnWiley & Sons, New York,.4. Cowardin, L.M., Carter, V., Golet, E.C. and La Roe (1979). Classification of wetlands and deep waterhabitats. USFWS/085-79/31, Office of the Biological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,Washington, D.C.5. Encyclopaedic Directory of Environment (1988). (Ed. By G.R. Chatwal, D.K. Pandey, and K.K.Nanda). Vol. I-IV, Anmol Publications, New Delhi.6. Garg, J.K., Singh, T.S. and Murthy, T.V.R. (1998). Wetlands of India. Project Report:RSAM/sac/resa/pr/01/98, June 1998, 240 p. Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad,7. Garg J.K. and Patel J. G., 2007. National Wetland Inventory and Assessment, Technical Guidelinesand Procedure Manual, Technical Report, SAC/EOAM/AFEG/NWIA/TR/01/2007, June 2007, SpaceApplications Centre, Ahmedabad,8. Glossary of Geology (1974). (Ed. By Margarate G., Robbert, M. Jr. and Wolf, C.L), AmericanGeological Institute, Washington, D.C..9. Jensen, J.R. (1986). Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective, PrenticeHall, Englewoods Cliff, NJ.10. Lacaux, J.P., Tourre, Y.M., Vignolles, C., Ndione, J.A. and Lafaye, M. 2007. Classification of pondsfrom high-spatial resolution remote sensing: Application to Rift valley fever epidemics in Senegal.Remote Sensing of Environment, 106, pp. 66-7411. Lillesand, T.M. and Keifer, R.W. 1987. Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation. John Wliey andSons, New York.12. Manorama Yearbook 200713. McGraw - Hill Encyclopaedia of Environmental Science (1974). (Ed. Sybil P. Parkar), McGraw-HillBook Company, New York.14. McFeeters, S.K. 1996. The use of Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) in the delineation ofopen water features. International Journal of remote Sensing, 7, pp. 1425-1432.15. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: A Framework forAssessment, http://www.MAweb.org16. Mitsch, William J. and Gosselink, James G. (1986). Wetlands, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company,New York.17. Navalgund, R.R., Nayak, S.R., Sudarshana, R., Nagaraja, R. and Ravindran, S. 2002. Proceedingsof the ISPRS Commission VII. Symposium on Resource and Environmental Monitoring, IAPRS &SIS, Vol.35, Part-7, NRSA, Hyderabad.18. Patel J.G., Singh T.S., Garg J.K. et al, Wetland Information System, West Bengal,SAC/RSAM/RESA/FLPG/WIS/01/2003, A Technical report: Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad19. Ramsar Convention (2007). www.ramsar.org20. Reid, George K and Wood, Richard D. (1976). Ecology of Inland Waters and Estuaries. D. VanNostrand Company, New York.21. SACON, 2004, Inland Wetlands of India : Conservation Atlas. Coimbatore, Salim Ali Centre forOrnithology and Natural History, 2004, ISBN 81-902136-1-X. ,Vedams eBooks (P) Ltd. VardhamanCharve Plaza IV, Building # 9, K.P Block, Pitampura,22. Singh T.S., Patel J.G., Garg J.K. et al. Loktak Lake Resources Information System (LRIS),SAC/RSAM/RESIPA/FLPG/WIS/02/2003, A Technical report: Space Applications Centre,Ahmedabad23. Townshend, J.R., and Justice, C.O. 1986. Analysis of dynamics of African vegetation using theNormalised difference Vegetation Index. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 7, pp. 1435-1445.24. Tucker, C.J. and Sellers, P.J. 1986. Satellite remote sensing of primary productivity. InternationalJournal of Remote Sensing, 7, pp. 1395-1416.25. Xu Hanqiu, 2006. Modification of normalised difference water index (NDWI) to enhance open waterfeatures in remotely sensed imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 7, pp. 3025-3033.125

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Annexure IDefinitions of wetland categories used in the projectFor ease of understanding, definitions of wetland categories and their typical appearance on satellite imagery is givenbelow:WetlandDefinition and descriptiontype code1000 Inland Wetlands1100 Natural1101 Lakes: Larger bodies of standing water occupying distinct basins (Reid et al, 1976). These wetlandsoccur in natural depressions and normally fed by streams/rivers. On satellite images lakes appear indifferent hues of blue interspersed with pink (aquatic vegetation), islands (white if unvegetated, red incase of terrestrial vegetation). Vegetation if scattered make texture rough.1102 Ox-bow lakes/ Cut off meanders: A meandering stream may erode the outside shores of its broadbends, and in time the loops may become cut-off, leaving basins. The resulting shallow crescentshapedlakes are called oxbow lakes (Reid et al, 1976). On the satellite image Ox-bow lakes occurnear the rivers in plain areas. Some part of the lake normally has aquatic vegetation (red/pink incolour) during pre-monsoon season.1103 High Altitude lakes: These lakes occur in the Himalayan region. Landscapes around high lakes arecharacterized by hilly topography. Otherwise they resemble lakes in the plain areas. For keepinguniformity in the delineation of these lakes contour line of 3000 m above msl will be taken asreference and all lakes above this contour line will be classified as high altitude lakes.1104 Riverine Wetlands: Along the major rivers, especially in plains water accumulates leading toformation of marshes and swamp. Swamps are ‘Wetland dominated by trees or shrubs’ (U.S.Definition). In Europe, a forested fen (a peat accumulating wetland that has no significant inflows oroutflows and supports acidophilic mosses, particularly Sphagnum) could be called a swamp. In someareas reed grass - dominated wetlands are also called swamps). (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1986).Marsh: A frequently or continually inundated wetland characterised by emergent herbaceousvegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions. In European terminology a marsh has a mineral soilsubstrate and does not accumulate peat (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1986). Tone is grey blue and textureis smooth.Comment: Using satellite data it is difficult to differentiate between swamp and marsh. Hence, bothhave been clubbed together.1105 Waterlogged: Said of an area in which water stands near, at, or above the land surface, so that theroots of all plants except hydrophytes are drowned and the plants die (Margarate et al, 1974). Floodsor unlined canal seepage and other irrigation network may cause waterlogging. Spectrally, during theperiod when surface water exists, waterlogged areas appear more or less similar to lakes/ponds.However, during dry season large or all parts of such areas dry up and give the appearance ofmud/salt flats (grey bluish).1106 River/stream: Rivers are linear water features of the landscape. Rivers that are wider than themapping unit will be mapped as polygons. Its importance arises from the fact that many stretches ofthe rivers in Indo-Gangetic Plains and peninsular India are declared important national andinternational wetlands (Ex. The river Ganga between Brajghat and Garh Mukteshwar, is a Ramsar site,Ranganthattu on the Cavery river is a bird sanctuary etc.). Wherever, rivers are wide and features likesand bars etc. are visible, they will be mapped.1200 Man-made1201Reservoir: A pond or lake built for the storage of water, usually by the construction of a dam across ariver (Margarate et al, 1974). On RS images, reservoirs have irregular boundary behind a prominentdyke. Wetland boundary in case of reservoir incorporates water, aquatic vegetation and footprint ofwater as well. In the accompanying images aquatic vegetation in the reservoir is seen in bright pinktone. Tone is dark blue in deep reservoirs while it is ink blue in case of shallow reservoirs or reservoirswith high silt load. These will be annotated as Reservoirs/Dam.Barrage: Dykes are constructed in the plain areas over rivers for creating Irrigation/water facilities.Such water storage areas develop into wetlands (Harike Barrage on Satluj – a Ramsar site, Okhlabarrage on the Yamuna etc. – a bird sanctuary). Water appears in dark blue tone with a smoothtexture. Aquatic vegetation appears in pink colour, which is scattered, or contiguous depending on thedensity. Reservoirs formed by barrages will be annotated as reservoir/barrage.127

1202 Tanks/Ponds: A term used in Ceylon and the drier parts of Peninsular India for an artificial pond, poolor lake formed by building a mud wall across the valley of a small stream to retain the monsoon(Margarate et al, 1974). Ponds Generally, suggest a small, quiet body of standing water, usuallyshallow enough to permit the growth of rooted plants from one shore to another (Reid et al, 1976).Tanks appear in light blue colour showing bottom reflectance.In this category Industrial ponds/mining pools mainly comprising Abandoned Quarries are alsoincluded (Quarry is defined as "An open or surface working or excavation for the extraction of stone,ore, coal, gravel or minerals." In such pits water accumulate (McGraw Hill Encyclopaedia ofEnvironmental Sciences, 1974), Ash pond/Cooling pond (The water body created for dischargingeffluents in industry, especially in thermal power plants (Encyclopaedic Directory of Environment,1988) and Cooling pond: An artificial lake used for the natural cooling of condenser-cooling waterserving a conventional power station (Encyclopaedic Directory of Environment, 1988). These pondscan be of any shape and size. Texture is rough and tonal appearance light (quarry) to blue shade(cooling pond).1203 Waterlogged : Man-made activities like canals cause waterlogging in adjacent areas due to seepageespecially when canals are unlined. Such areas can be identified on the images along canal network.Tonal appearance is in various hues of blue. Sometimes, such waterlogged areas dry up and leavewhite scars on the land. Texture is smooth.1204 Salt pans: Inland salt pans in India occur in Rajasthan (Sambhar lake). These are shallow rectangularman-made depressions in which saline water is accumulated for drying in the sun for making salt.2000 Coastal Wetlands2100 Natural2101 Lagoons/Backwaters: Such coastal bodies of water, partly separated from the sea by barrierbeaches or bass of marine origin, are more properly termed lagoons. As a rule, lagoons are elongateand lie parallel to the shoreline. They are usually characteristic of, but not restricted to, shores ofemergence. Lagoons are generally shallower and more saline than typical estuaries (Reid et al, 1976).Backwater: A creek, arm of the sea or series of connected lagoons, usually parallel to the coast,separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land but communicating with it through barred outlets(Margarate et al, 1974).2102 Creek: A notable physiographic feature of salt marshes, especially low marshes. These creeksdevelop as do rivers "with minor irregularities sooner or later causing the water to be deflected intodefinite channels" (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1986). Creeks will be delineated, however, their area willnot be estimated.2103 Sand/Beach: Beach is an unvegetated part of the shoreline formed of loose material, usually sandthat extends from the upper berm (a ridge or ridges on the backshore of the beach, formed by thedeposit of material by wave action, that marks the upper limit of ordinary high tides and wave wash tolow water mark(Clark,1977).Beach comprising rocky material is called rocky beach.2104 Intertidal mudflats: Most unvegetated areas that are alternately exposed and inundated by thefalling and rising of the tide. They may be mudflats or sand flats depending on the coarseness of thematerial of which they are made (Clark, 1977).2105 Salt Marsh: Natural or semi-natural halophytic grassland and dwarf brushwood on the alluvialsediments bordering saline water bodies whose water level fluctuates either tidally or non- tidally(Mitsch and Gosselink, 1986). Salt marshes look in grey blue shade when wet.2106 Mangroves: The mangrove swamp is an association of halophytic trees, shrubs, and other plantsgrowing in brackish to saline tidal waters of tropical and sub-tropical coastlines (Mitsch and Gosselink,1986). On the satellite images mangroves occur in red colour if in contiguous patch. When mangroveassociations are scattered or are degraded then instead of red colour, brick red colour may be seen.2107 Coral reefs: Consolidated living colonies of microscopic organisms found in warm tropical waters. Theterm coral reef, or organic reef is applied to the rock- like reefs built-up of living things, principallycorals. They consist of accumulations of calcareous deposits of corals and corraline algae with theintervening space connected with sand, which consists largely of shells of foraminefera. Present reefsare living associations growing on this accumulation of past (Clark, 1977). Reefs appear in light blueshade.2200 Man-made2201 Salt pans: An undrained usually small and shallow rectangular, man-made depression or hollow inwhich saline water accumulates and evaporates leaving a salt deposit (Margarate et al, 1974). Saltpans are square or rectangular in shape. When water is there appearance is blue while salt is formedtone is white.2202 Aquaculture ponds: Aquaculture is defined as "The breeding and rearing of fresh-water or marinefish in captivity. Fish farming or ranching". The water bodies used for the above are called aquacultureponds (Encyclopaedic Directory of Environment, 1988). Aquaculture ponds are geometrical in shapeusually square or rectangular. Tone is blue.128

Annexure – IIDetails of District information followed in the atlasSource : Survey of India (Surveyed in 2004 and published in 2005)129

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Space Applications Centre (SAC) is one of the majorcentres of the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO). It is a unique centre dealing with a wide variety ofdisciplines comprising design and development ofpayloads, societal applications, capacity building andspace sciences, thereby creating a synergy oftechnology, science and applications. The Centre isresponsible for the development, realisation andqualification of communication, navigation, earth &planetary observation, meteorological payloads andrelated data processing and ground systems. Severalnational level application programmes in the area ofnatural resources, weather and environmental studies,disaster monitoring/mitigation, etc are also carried out. Itis playing an important role in harnessing spacetechnology for a wide variety of applications for societalbenefits.SAC is a host institution for the training programmesrelated to Satellite Communication, Satellite Meteorologyand global change under the Centre for Space Science &Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP)affiliated to the United Nations (UN).http://www.isro.org

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