Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands

Featured Articles
December 4, 2022
Small scale inland open water fisheries of India
What is the status of inland fisheries in India? Read these situational analysis reports to know about inland fisheries, the life of the fisherfolk, governance and tenure in inland fisheries and threats to the sustainability of inland fisheries.
Fishing in an irrigation canal in Kerala (Image Source: Martin Pilkinton via Wikimedia Commons)
November 25, 2022
Categorising watersheds for freshwater ecosystem conservation in India
These maps at the watershed scales have been made to not only ensure inclusion of different freshwater ecosystems, their connectivity and hydrological processes, but can also provide a spatial context for conservation decisions.
A stream at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh (Image Source: Roshni Arora)
November 16, 2022
Improving community resilience in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in India
Adoption of hybrid solutions - grey and green structures appropriate for resilience building
Healthy wetland ecosystems help in reducing disaster risks and managing climate risks (Image: Pxhere)
October 30, 2022
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
October 6, 2022
Deteriorating landscapes and threatened ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir
Rapid urbanisation and faulty land use policies are rapidly destroying forests, grasslands and wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir, India and the ecosystem value services they provide. Can these valuable ecosystems be saved?
Deteriorating ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir, India (Image Source: tkohli at Flickr via Wikimedia Commons)
August 27, 2022
Himalayan lakes can potentially become long-term sinks of microplastics
Study looks at microplastic types in lakes of Ladakh
(Vinay Goel, Wikimedia Commons)
Videos
An overview on wetlands in India
My disappearing land- Majuli
Tragic tale of Erai
Revival of Ganga wetlands gets government's attention
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 03 Mar, 2021 02:18 PM

Jal Shakti Ministry draws focus towards revival of Ganga wetlands
Receding Ganga river at Sangam (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
India gets its first wetland conservation centre
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Feb, 2021 11:35 AM

Country’s first wetland conservation centre set up on World Wetland Day
Deepor beel, Assam (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Disaster strikes Uttarakhand, yet again
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Feb, 2021 11:28 AM

Uttarakhand glacier disaster: Death toll rises to 58 as rescue operation continues
Flash Floods in Chamoli, Uttarakhand (Image Source: India.com)
Professor Brij Gopal, a tireless advocate of India’s rivers!
Professor Brij Gopal, a tireless advocate of India’s rivers passed away in Delhi last week. We, at the India Water Portal are extremely saddened by this news.
India Water Portal team
Posted on 03 Feb, 2021 03:06 PM

We best remember Professor Brij Gopal as someone who was very frank in his criticism of river and wetland policies. He strongly voiced the need for conserving river ecology and conceptualised the river regulation zone to offer legal protection to river floodplains from activities that could threaten the health of rivers.
River Ken in Madhya Pradesh (Image Source: Shivamd2d via Wikimedia Commons)
Bengaluru lakes, in crisis!
Urban wetlands are increasingly under threat in cities such as Bengaluru! Community participation and better planning, management and monitoring of urban spaces is the need of the hour!
Katja Brinkmann
Ellen Hoffmann
Andreas Buerkert
Posted on 01 Feb, 2021 12:40 PM

What are wetlands

Wetland is a place where water covers the soil or is near the soil surface for varying periods of time during the year. Wetlands include a wide variety of habitats ranging from lakes, marshes, swamps, estuaries, tidal flats, river flood plains, mangroves and even rice fields.
Ulsoor lake, Bengaluru (Image Source: Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons)
Online event on World Wetland Day by Wetlands International South Asia
Wetlands International South Asia will be organising a virtual event to mark the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2021.
Posted on 18 Jan, 2021 03:22 PM WWD 2021 Flyer

About World Wetland Day: 
The unsung women fishers of Wular lake
Fisherwomen’s experiences and perspectives about their livelihoods based on the Wular lake.
Atufa Regu
P S Ananthan
Posted on 02 Jan, 2021 08:20 PM

Nestled in the north Kashmir region is Wular lake, India’s largest freshwater lake or wetland.
The survival of many fisher households living nearby is entirely dependent on Wular lake. (Image: Manju Rawat)
Study using geo-tagged bottles unravels plastic pollution
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Dec, 2020 04:53 PM

Plastic pollution can travel thousands of kilometres in just a few months, finds new study using geo-tagged bottles
Plastic pollution by a river (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
World Toilet Day 2020: Safe fecal disposal key to sustainable sanitation
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 19 Nov, 2020 11:57 AM

UN emphasises the need for safe faecal disposal this WTD2020
Fecal sludge management key to safe sanitation (Source: CS Sharada Prasad)
India now has 41 Ramsar sites, with two more wetlands added to the list
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 19 Nov, 2020 06:21 AM

Two more wetlands added to Ramsar sites
Lonar Sarovar lake Maharastra (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
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