Elsewhere and in India, for a long time, wetland ecosystems have been insignificant on the conservation front compared to forests, grasslands or marine ecosystems, etc. With indistinct definitions or laws for the conservation of wetlands, they often fall under the “wasteland” category – meaning, they are unproductive lands that can be used for more productive things.
Only recently, the Environment Ministry had notified the new Wetlands, Conservation and Management rules 2017 that supersedes the old rules that were introduced back in 2010. Last year, new guidelines were furnished to stimulate state governments to actively identify and conserve wetlands.
Here in the Nilgiris, the majority of large and small tracts of wetlands are usually found on common lands or semi-urban areas, then in, depths of forest or reserve areas. These wetlands are the ones that are easily susceptive to human activities that lead to degradation.
Informing local communities about the ecosystem services that wetlands offer and highlighting their uniqueness is equally important as much as apprising people’s perception on planting trees, or saving wildlife, or increasing biodiversity.
This exclusive information centre on wetlands envisages promulgating the sparsely represented wetlands of the Nilgiris. This centre has informational posters that depict the numerous wetlands found in the region, its role in recharging groundwater, the biodiversity it supports, its pronounced nature to the landscape and so on.
At the same space, just below the information centre visitors get to perceive an actually restored wetland with native plants and grass species by taking a small walk. This centre is open to people from all walks of life.
This initiative was carried out in collaboration with Indocoserve tea (a cooperative of small tea growers). It is located in a place called Kattabettu – a small town junction en route Coonoor or Ooty via Kotagiri.
