Pallikaranai marshlands in Chennai, now a Ramsar site, is unique

On July 26, the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change announced that three wetlands, namely Karikili Bird Sanctuary in Chengalpattu district, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest in Chennai and Pichavaram mangrove forests in Cuddalore district, have been declared as Wetlands of International Importance or Ramsar sites. Two other wetlands from Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh have been bestowed with this tag as well.

The Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty established in 1975 by UNESCO, which “provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources”.

Of the three wetlands in Tamil Nadu, which got this coveted international tag this year, the story of Pallikaranai marshlands is unique. Because this is the only urban wetlands at least in south India if not at the national level, which is located in the heart of the city and  meets the stringent conditions required to be chosen as a Ramsar site.

According to Ramsar Convention, a wetland is an area with marsh or water, whether artificial or naturally occurring, where the water is either flowing or stagnant, either salty or fresh and can also include marine areas where the depth of water during low tide reaches a minimum of six meters. The wetland include surrounding areas of the shores, riverbanks, and entire watercourses.

The classifications of wetlands fall into three main classes: marine wetlands, artificial wetlands, and inland wetlands. These groups can be classified further according to the type of water such as the fresh, alkaline, saline, and brackish water.

What is the Ramsar Convention?

Held on February 2, 1971, at Ramsar, a city in Iran, this Convention, in simple terms, is an international agreement for the protection and conservation of wetlands. The treaty came into force in 1975. As of April 2022, there are 2,437 Ramsar sites across the world and 171 countries including India are parties to the convention.

The convention came into force in India on February 1, 1982 and India currently has 54 sites designated as Ramsar Sites, with a surface area of 1,098,518 hectares.

Wetland lost to urbanisation

The original expanse of this Pallikaranai freshwater marshland was about 6,000 hectares. Due to rapid urbanisation over the years, its area has been reduced to just 593.64 hectares. In 1985-1986, it was identified as one of the 94 wetlands across the country and one of the three from Tamil Nadu, under the Union government’s National Wetland Conservation and Management Programme.

Earlier, the Union ministry of environment had prioritised this marshland as one of the most significant wetlands in the country under the project ‘Inland Wetlands of India’. It is surrounded by the Old Mahabalipuram Road expressway and residential areas like Velachery, Madipakkam, Medavakkam, Taramani, Perungudi and Siruseri. The marshland contains many endangered and endemic bird, insect and plant species.

There are many IT companies, residential habitats and educational institutions located on the banks of the marshland or nearby, and they exert pressure on the wetland by dumping wastes and construction debris. The continuous dumping of wastes by the Chennai Corporation despite many court rulings, has led to severe pollution in the marshland.

One of the major benefits of this marshland inside the city limits is that, during the rains, the surplus rain water drains into the marshland and flows into the sea through a channel called Okkiyam Maduvu. Therefore, it plays a critical role in flood mitigation.

Also read: Pallikarnai lone wetland in Chennai to help prevent floods

Conservation efforts

Following the continuous push by the city’s environmental activists, the state government started to focus on this wetland from 2002. It was that year the state pollution control board commissioned a study on the wetland quality. The study was conducted by a Chennai-based research foundation Care Earth Trust.

The study found out that the wetland is the habitat for 275 species of flora and more than 100 species of fauna.

This pushed the then Kanchipuram district administration to notify about 548 hectares of the marshland as ‘protected land’ in 2003. Then there were a flurry of activities as the state constituted a high-level committee to restore the wetland ecosystem in 2005,  resident associations in the area formed a group to protect the wetland in 2006 and a further study was commissioned by an eight-member team from Freiburg University in Germany in 2007.

The most significant step towards conserving this marshland came in 2007, as the state declared some 327 hectares of the marshland as a reserve forest. In 2010, the state conducted its first scientific bird census here.

In 2011, the Care Earth Trust developed an adaptive management plant to conserve this wetland. It was also the same year the state took initial steps to get the Ramsar site tag. In the years that followed, some patches of the marshland were handed over to the forest department.

In 2018, the state government announced that the eco-restoration of the marshland would be carried out under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change, in the period between 2018 and 2023. In 2021, an eco park was opened along the Velachery – Tambaram stretch to create awareness about the wetland.

Also read: 5 more Indian wetlands added to Ramsar list; Pallikaranai among 3 in TN

What’s next after the Ramsar tag?

Talking to The Federal, Jayshree Vencatesan, a wetland ecologist and an expert member with Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority said that getting a Ramsar tag is just one part of it.

“The government needs to invest a lot of energy, resources and money to train people in wetland management because wetland science in our state is in its nascent stage. Now, we have got the Ramsar tag, all the international eyes will be on this wetland. If the wetland is not properly conserved, it puts us in the negative mark and the site will come under Montreux Record (a register of poorly maintained wetlands),” said Vencatesan, who is also a managing trustee of Care Earth Trust.

Further, Vencatesan, who is also managing trustee of Care Earth Trust, pointed out that since a Ramsar site tag translates into “wise use” of the wetland, it remains to be seen how the government will wisely use the area.

Deepak Srivastava, additional chief conservator of forests and member secretary, state wetland authority said that the first step after getting the Ramsar site tag, is to bring out ‘health cards’ of the three wetlands.

“The health card will have the details about hitherto unknown information such as the level of sedimentation, heavy metals, total dissolved salts levels, etc. Based on the health card, we will develop an integrated management plan to retrieve the wetlands. Meanwhile, we have started working with various departments in removing encroachments on the wetlands,” he said.