Wetlands

South Chennai

Importance of Wetlands

Wetlands contribute to a healthy environment in many ways. They act to retain water during dry periods, thus keeping the water table high and relatively stable. During the periods of flooding, they act to reduce the flood levels and to trap suspended solids and attached nutrients. The streams that flow into lakes upon passing through wetland contain lesser silt.

The removal of the wetlands worsens the lake quality as the lake faces imminent and periodic flooding and siltation. Wetlands are important feeding and breeding area for wildlife and a stopover for waterfowl. Wetlands are important in supporting species diversity and have a complex and important food web. Above all else in this age of Survival of the fittest, these can be instrumental in deciding the fate of the any water starved dry region as they have astounding recharge potentials.

Threat to the wetlands

The wetlands around the world are being threatened with polluting agencies of diverse kinds. Among these, the Pollution from the Sewage and the Garbage disposal is a major factor of concern. Source based and Non – Point Pollutants are a major threat to the wetlands.

Effects of Pollutants on Our Waters

Studies in the past have shown that non-point source pollution is the leading cause of water quality problems in the city of Chennai. The effects of non-point source pollutants on specific waters vary and may not always be fully assessed. However, pollutants have harmful effects on drinking water supplies, recreation, fisheries, and wildlife.

What can be done about these kinds of Pollution?

We can all work together to reduce and prevent non-point source pollution and save the Wetlands. Some activities are administrative responsibilities, such as ensuring that state lands are properly managed to reduce soil erosion, Sewage Treatment Plants are equipped with environmentally friendly tools that can effectively reduce the content of the Pollutant. Some are state responsibilities, for example, developing legislation to govern mining and logging, disposal of waste whether Solid, Liquid, Gaseous or of late Bio-Medical in nature, and to protect groundwater. Others are best handled locally, such as by zoning, erosion control ordinances, formulating management strategies for the protection of wetlands and other water bodies. And each individual can play an important role by practicing conservation and by changing certain everyday habits.

Need for the study

The Army Corps of Engineers uses vegetation, soil, and hydrology to determine existence of wetlands. Typically all three indicators must be present during a part of the year; however, the land in the ten Villages has been altered, making the presence of a single characteristic sufficient to make the designation of the area as a wetland.

Although there have been studies in the past that have had the same region of Interest for different studies. The conservation of these lands from the wetland point of view is remarkably missing in these studies. 

The land has been altered for the developmental activities by various organizations such as the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), Ambedkar Law University, Alandur Municipality, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Engineering Colleges, Commercial Establishments, the Film Workers association, Private Firms and the CMWSSB among others. Apart from these, the slum dwellers rehabilitated by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board are also a major encroacher in the region. Although many studies have been carried out for wetland remedial measures and management, very little research has been done in the field of Wetlands and Solid Waste Disposal and Garbage Dumping that is a growing phenomenon in most of the metropolitan cities across the globe. The situation in the developed nations is less adverse as they have woken up to the threat of the contamination of wetlands and their adverse impacts. However, in developing nations the growing economy has little time to care for these issues and thus turns a blind eye to this grave danger. Moreover, in the city of Chennai, the impact of the Waste Disposal has come to such a state that if remedial measures are not taken soon, then the fragile ecosystem of the South Chennai Wetlands will collapse.

Scope of the Present Study

 The present study aims at using all the available resources of the past studies as groundwork and baseline and concentrate on the hitherto unexplored field of Solid Waste disposal and Urban Sprawl in the region. The use of Remote Sensing and GIS is an asset to any geographical study and hence the present study proposes to find a pattern of change in the region through certain tests and ground verification.

Wetlands - Save them !

Study Area