x
planning, legislation, funding and active involvement from all levels of
organisation (governmental and non-governmental organisations or NGOs,
research organisations, media, etc.) through collaborations and intergovernmental processes, may be by allowing them to innovate and undertake
restoration programmes. A network of educational institutions, researchers,
NGOs and the local people have suggested to help restore the fast perishing
wetland ecosystem and conserve those at the verge of death by formulating
viable plans, policies and management strategies. Legal issues relevant to
wetland conservation have been discussed to provide guidance to policymakers and planners.
It is a fact that lakes, wetlands and reservoirs hold a great promise as a
source of freshwater, the demand of which will grow with passage of time.
Unfortunately, these ecosystems are being neglected and destroyed in rural
as well as in urban areas. The main problem in their management involves
maintenance of water-holding capacity.
Innumerable lakes and reservoirs scattered all over the country need an
urgent management plan for their protection, rehabilitation and conservation.
By suitable remedial measures, these water bodies can provide an ideal
recreational site apart from other benefi ts like fi sh production, charging of
groundwater table and conditioning of the climate. To achieve this, there is a
need of a clear-cut lake, wetland and reservoir protection strategy as an integral
component of natural water policy.
Wetlands, a distinctive group of habitats intermediate between aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems, have a specialised vegetation which copes with the
vagaries of fl uctuating water tables, the chemical oddities of anaerobic soils
and, in some cases, the problems of inundation with saline water. Extensive
areas are often inaccessible to large predatory mammals including man; and,
so, provide a refuge for a diversity of beautiful and unusual wildlife.
Further, wetlands are of palaeontological importance. The importance of
palaeolimnological studies in an understanding of the ontogeny of lake
ecosystems is a subject that deserves and has been given separate emphasis.
Wetlands generally preserve a stratifi ed record of past succession, because
decomposition is slow in waterlogged soils. Pollen grains and occasionally
archaeological artefacts hidden in the peats and sediment layers below
the present surface may be as much at risk from drainage as the living
community above.
In addition to the above, tropical and subtropical wetlands have been
exploited and created to produce rice which feeds more than half the human
population. In view of the diversity in aquatic life, this book is intended to
introduce the fascinating complex of adaptation by which plants and animals
live, thrive and interact within these diverse but frighteningly vulnerable
communities.
Notwithstanding the above, freshwater is one of the most important
natural resources crucial for the survival of all living beings. It is even more
important for humans as they depend on it also for food production, industrial
growth, hydropower generation and waste disposal as well as for cultural
requirements. Limnology is the science which deals with the freshwater
Preface
planning, legislation, funding and active involvement from all levels of
organisation (governmental and non-governmental organisations or NGOs,
research organisations, media, etc.) through collaborations and intergovernmental processes, may be by allowing them to innovate and undertake
restoration programmes. A network of educational institutions, researchers,
NGOs and the local people have suggested to help restore the fast perishing
wetland ecosystem and conserve those at the verge of death by formulating
viable plans, policies and management strategies. Legal issues relevant to
wetland conservation have been discussed to provide guidance to policymakers and planners.
It is a fact that lakes, wetlands and reservoirs hold a great promise as a
source of freshwater, the demand of which will grow with passage of time.
Unfortunately, these ecosystems are being neglected and destroyed in rural
as well as in urban areas. The main problem in their management involves
maintenance of water-holding capacity.
Innumerable lakes and reservoirs scattered all over the country need an
urgent management plan for their protection, rehabilitation and conservation.
By suitable remedial measures, these water bodies can provide an ideal
recreational site apart from other benefi ts like fi sh production, charging of
groundwater table and conditioning of the climate. To achieve this, there is a
need of a clear-cut lake, wetland and reservoir protection strategy as an integral
component of natural water policy.
Wetlands, a distinctive group of habitats intermediate between aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems, have a specialised vegetation which copes with the
vagaries of fl uctuating water tables, the chemical oddities of anaerobic soils
and, in some cases, the problems of inundation with saline water. Extensive
areas are often inaccessible to large predatory mammals including man; and,
so, provide a refuge for a diversity of beautiful and unusual wildlife.
Further, wetlands are of palaeontological importance. The importance of
palaeolimnological studies in an understanding of the ontogeny of lake
ecosystems is a subject that deserves and has been given separate emphasis.
Wetlands generally preserve a stratifi ed record of past succession, because
decomposition is slow in waterlogged soils. Pollen grains and occasionally
archaeological artefacts hidden in the peats and sediment layers below
the present surface may be as much at risk from drainage as the living
community above.
In addition to the above, tropical and subtropical wetlands have been
exploited and created to produce rice which feeds more than half the human
population. In view of the diversity in aquatic life, this book is intended to
introduce the fascinating complex of adaptation by which plants and animals
live, thrive and interact within these diverse but frighteningly vulnerable
communities.
Notwithstanding the above, freshwater is one of the most important
natural resources crucial for the survival of all living beings. It is even more
important for humans as they depend on it also for food production, industrial
growth, hydropower generation and waste disposal as well as for cultural
requirements. Limnology is the science which deals with the freshwater
Preface