Content uploaded by Moharana Choudhury
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Moharana Choudhury on Aug 22, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
EDITED BY
Dr. Abhijit Mitra
Mr. Monruskin M. Calma
Dr. Shambhu Prasad Chakrabarty
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Dr. Sufia Zaman
Dr. Prosenjit Pramanick
!
H.S.R.A!PUBLICATIONS!
No.!2,!Sri!Annapoorneshwari!Nilaya,!1st!Main,!Byraveshwara!Nagar!
Laggere,!Bangalore!-!560058!
Ph:!7892793054!
Email:!hsrapublications@gmail.com!
www.hsrapublications.com
ii
© 2020 HRSA Publication, India
All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publisher.
Although due care has been taken, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher nor the editors for any
damage as a result of use of this publication and/or the information contained herein.
Published by:
HSRA Publication
No.!2,!Sri!Annapoorneshwari!Nilaya,!!
1st!Main,!Byraveshwara!Nagar,!Laggere,!!
Bangalore!-!560058,!India!
Ph:!7892793054,!
Email:!hsrapublications@gmail.com!!
www.hsrapublications.com!!
!
!
!
ISBN:!978-81-947216-7-3!!
Intercontinental Webinar Proceeding on “Ecosystem Services and UNSDG” held on 5 th June 2020
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 103
CHAPTER 12
Wetlands are in Peril - A Case Study of Son Beel Wetland of Assam, India
Moharana Choudhury1, Anu Sharma2, Arghya Chakravorty3 and Joystu Dutta4
1Voice of Environment (VoE), Guwahati, Assam, India
2Govt. Degree College, Bhaderwah, Doda, Union Territory of J K
3School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
4Dept. of Environmental Science, University Teaching Department, Sant Gahira Guru University,
Ambikapur (CG.)-497001, India
Abstract
Wetlands are the most productive ecosystems on earth’s surface. Ramsar Convention puts forward
binding regulations to protect wetlands across the globe. The real situation however, is different and
complex. These fragile ecosystems are under imminent threat from natural and anthropogenic stress
factors. Son Beel Wetlands of Assam in North East India is also no different. The health of this
wetland is steadily deteriorating as a result of a series of internal as well as external factors. Valuation
of the wetland is important to understand the need for conservation and sustainable development. The
beneficial future prospects of the wetland are further discussed in this chapter which can be facilitated
with the help of cutting-edge technologies such as nanotechnology.
Keywords: fragile ecosystems, natural, anthropogenic, stress factors, nanotechnology
Wetlands are in Peril - A Case Study of Son Beel Wetland of Assam, India
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 104
Introduction
Water is a very precious resource. It is a vital source for the living world to accomplish the essential
metabolic activity and other primary purposes like agricultural or industrial use. Water plays a crucial
role in the healthy economic growth and development of any nation or region. Its availability
determines factors such as agriculture, industrial, commercial, and sustainable development, etc. More
water resource presence means the country or the particular area is more abundant in water resource
availability, resulting in a more diversified ecosystem.
Here we refer to one such ecosystem called wetlands. Wetlands are not only one of the water bodies
but an important aquatic ecosystem. It is a very unique and distinct kind of ecosystem where the water
covers the land. These may be seasonal or permanent. This ecosystem is unique in having vegetation
that can survive without water. Thus, the wetland is an ecosystem where the land is covered with
freshwater or marine water or the mixture of two kinds of aquatic ecosystems producing unique
properties of an ecotone. Or we can state that the wetlands are the areas where water meets land or
between aquatic and terrestrial systems in transition. According to Ramsar convention which took
place at a place called Ramsar in Iran defined wetlands as
“Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the
associated plant and animal life. Wetlands occur the water table is near the surface of the
land, or where the land is covered by water.”
The 1971 Ramsar Convention took a wider view of the wetlands as defined. Article 1.1 of the
Convention sets down the wetlands are:
“areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or
temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of
marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”.
Article 2.1 of the Convention fulfills the purpose of protecting sites and provides for the inclusion
of wetlands in the Ramsar List of wetlands of international significance, and provides that:
“May incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of
marine water deeper than six meters at low tide lying within the wetlands.
The 1971 Ramsar Convention classified wetlands into five broader categories, as:
1. Marine: Coastal wetlands such as lagoons, rocky beaches and coral reefs are examples
2. Estuarine: deltas, mangrove swamps and tidal marshes
3. Lacustrine: Sea based wetlands
4. Riverine: Rivers and rivers
5. Palustrine: swamps, marshes, and bogs
Certain types include Human-made wetlands, including fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated
agricultural land, salt pans, lakes, gravel pits, sewage fields, and canals. The Ramsar Convention has
given forty-two categories further grouped under three broader headings: marine and coastal wetlands,
inland wetlands, and human-made wetlands, following the Ramsar Wetland Classification. The
wetland generally includes marshes, swamps, flood plains, bogs, peat lands, shallow ponds, and littoral
zones. These are large water reservoirs—caused by excessive accumulation of water at the surface of
land-logging during the specific season or over the year. This water body formation on this surface of
the soil is due to impeded drainage conditions. The Ramsar Convention in Iran (1971) defines wetlands
as areas of marshland, fen, and peat or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary,
with stagnant or flowing water, fresh, brackish or, marine, not exceeding six meters at low tides.
Ramsar has also defined riparian and coastal areas adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or marine
Intercontinental Webinar Proceeding on “Ecosystem Services and UNSDG” held on 5 th June 2020
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 105
bodies of water. Ramsar categorized wetlands into (A) estuaries, mangroves, and tidal flats (B) flood
plains and deltas; (C) freshwater marshes (D) lakes; (E) peatlands; and; (F) woodland wetlands. The
wetland ecosystem is a bank for a wide range of flora and fauna, with all the great cultural, aesthetic,
and scientific significance. These are a suitable niche for fish, tortoise, and some endangered and rare
bird species. The importance of water resource management is an essential feature of any country or
region's social, environmental, and economic system, which generally provides an overview of the role
of water resources in the economy of that country and the legislative framework for access to water
resources. Wetlands occur all over the world, from tundra to tropics. The UNEP-World Conservation
Monitoring Center estimates that about 570 million hectares are covered by wetlands, which is nearly 6
percent of the Earth's total land surface.
Significance of Wetlands
They act as habitat and niche for variety of floral and faunal species. They support huge variety
of birds, animals, reptiles, amphibious species, fish and other aquatic plants and animals.
They are the storehouses of genetic plant material. Paddy plant for example is a common
wetland plant.
Economically they are an important area like water supplies, fisheries, agriculture, recreation
They are a great center of tourist attraction
Wetlands are a part and parcel of the cultural heritage. They have a deep connection
withCreeds both mystical and cosmological.
They create anaesthetic source of inspiration, wildlife sanctuaries and a base for local rituals.
They act as buffer between saline waters of coastal region and agricultural fields and thus save
the crops
They act as barrier against pollution, cyclones, and floods like in case of recently occurred
cyclone Amphan that took place in the Bay of Bengal.
To highlight the significance of the wetlands we have conducted one study in the Son Beel lake
of Assam.
This study presents the reflection of the global and the regional level scenario of wetlands as a
freshwater resource and a storehouse of rich biodiversity. The wetland ecosystem is significant for
various functions such as food storage, water resource, and the aquatic world as well. It provides
habitat for different species of flora and fauna. Thus, the study of the wetland ecosystem for any
particular region can reflect a glimpse of its conservation status and its present scenario. The Son Beel
wetland study has been carried out to understand the wetland's current situation as it is considered
amongst the most significant wetland of Assam and North East, India. GIS and Remote sensing-based
studies show that the ecosystem is facing both natural as well as anthropogenic threats. As per this
present study, it is observed that there is a significant change in land use/land cover patterns during the
last five years (2011 to 2015). A sharp decreasing trend in water body area is noticed during the recent
years compared to the previous years. It was reported that spatial-temporal changes in the wetlands of
north Bihar by using geospatial technology (Ghosh et al., 2004). Recently in a study showed
delineating East Champaran wetlands, Bihar state using remote sensing and application of GIS (Manju
et al., 2005). It has also been noted that there is a growing trend in the degradation of wetlands,
particularly in northeast India. This analysis is thus performed to recognize and assess the present Son
Beel wetland scenario over time. Quite recently, a son beel wetland study that gave Son Beel a very
significant estimated monetary value ranges from a minimum of $88 / Hectare/year to a maximum of
Wetlands are in Peril - A Case Study of Son Beel Wetland of Assam, India
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 106
$29,716 / Hectare/year, For this wonderful wetland, which is not only a reservoir of biodiversity, water
supplies, but can also improve the socio-economic scenario of the region by encouraging ecotourism,
proper conservation measures are thus desperately needed. The study also proposed that the site be
designated as the Ramsar site for Wetland, or that the authorities take other constructive steps to
improve its security. (Kumar Deepak et al., 2020).
Study Area
The Son Beel (Shon Beel) is not only an important wetland of Karimganj district of Assam but it is
considered as one of the largest wetlands of Asia. It is located between 92°24’50” to 92°28’25” E and
24°36’40” to 24°44’30” N in Karimganj district of southern Assam, India. The Son Beel wetland lies
in Ramkrishna Nagar block of Karimganj district as Son Beel is only 10 Km away from Ramkrishna
Nagar. A special interesting feature of Son Beel lake is said that during the winter season, it becomes
as an agricultural field where, rice cultivation is practised and after the winter season especially from
March onward this area generally gets filled up with water and becomes a large wetland due to rain
water. The average depth of this wetland is very less so when there is more rain, the lake overflows
and the excess water flows through by Kakra River and finally mix with the Kushira River which
eventually goes into Bangladesh (Kar 1990). Son Beel is famous for its fishery and it is one of the
main producers of fish for all the districts in southern Assam and the region.
Fig. 1. Study Area Map
Son Beel is the production point of all types of fish and the speciality of Son Beel is famous for its
small tiny fishes. There are about 500 families engaging in the net making and the fish marketing
network from this Son Beel wetland. It has been estimated by state government report and records
there are more than 35,000 families directly dependent on the Beel for traditional fishing system. More
than 40% of area around Son Beel is covered water body which has evergreen forest. Son Beel is the
habitat place for some reptiles and other various aquatic species. This wetland is also important
because of Siberian Birds rested for around three months of a year. There are near about 9 numbers of
Gaon Panchayats which are surrounded by Son Beel area. It has estimated that Son Beel has maximum
length and breadth of 13.2kms and 4.2kms, respectively. The nearby shoreline is about 35.4kms. Lake
Son Beel is rich in fish biodiversity and around 69 different fish species are found among which small
fishes are most (Kar et al., 2006).
Intercontinental Webinar Proceeding on “Ecosystem Services and UNSDG” held on 5 th June 2020
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 107
Conservation and protection of wetlands
Wetlands, due to their unique and distinct significance, are the ecosystems worth protection,
improvement, and conservation. The loss of wetlands means an imbalance in the ecological balance.
They protect the environment from the extremes of climate, disasters like cyclones, flash floods, etc.
Being the world’s highly productive ecosystems, they are rightly called the cradles of biodiversity. The
rapidly increasing population, pollution, big industries, deforestation, big unplanned developmental
projects are some of the factors responsible for the dwindling of the wetlands in India. Thus owing to
immense significance, the wetlands need immediate attention for their conservation, and Ramsar
Convention is one such step in this direction. In the Indian context, the wetland loss acute and chronic
acute failure means the filling up of wet areas with soil and the gradual removal of forest cover
followed by erosion and sedimentation of the wetlands over many years is the chronic loss.
Beneficial Future Prospect of Son Beel Wetland with the Help of Nanotechnology
1) Barringtoniaacutangula: Barringtoniaacutangula watery leaf extract is capable of reducing AgNO3
aqueous solution. Porrawatkul et al., 60 nm green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of the
plant have been reported to be a potent antioxidant along with antibacterial property against model
gram positive (+ ve) Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and model gram negative (-ve) Escherichia coli
bacteria (Porrawatkul et al., 2017). Also, the same NPs can serve as a cost-effective green manure,
thus playing a major role in seed germination and root shoot growth (Bharali et al., 2018).
2) Centellaasiatica: Ethanolic exact of the pant can reduce AuCl3 and can make an effective 2 – 24 nm
sized NPs, with the potential to use in molecular imaging for diagnosis of critical diseases like cancer
(Das et al., 2010). Netala et al., successfully tested the AgNPs of Centellaasiatica is antimicrobial
nanomedicine to treat different disease causing organisms like Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus
aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli. The size of these AgNPs may differ on the range
of 4 to 50 nm (Netala et al., 2015).
3) Cocciniaindica: Pectin is abundant phytochemical of Cocciniaindica, which can be used for drug
encapsulation and the zein nanoparticles were successfully encapsulated by Cocciniaindica derived
pectin (Dhanya et al., 2010). That refers that this wetland plant is capable to take part in drug delivery
system.
4) Mimosa pudica: The root extract of Mimosa pudica is able to form 67 nm sized spherical FeO
nanoparticles at room temperature (Niraimathee et al., 2016). Ethanolic extract of the leaf extract able
to form ZnO nanoparticles (Fatimah et al., 2016); AgNPs of this plant shows significant antimicrobial
activity against pathogenic bacteria B. subtilis, gram E. coli, P. aeruginosa (Sreenivasulu et al.,
2016). By considering all aspects, it refers that derivatives of Mimosa pudica can be used as
nanomedicine as a very good drug carrier to treat different diseases at early stages.
5) Cassia tora: Extract of Cassia tora leaf can reduce AgNO3, results AgNPs which shows strong
affectivity against pathogenic E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and B. subtilis (Saravanakumar et al.,
2015; Shaikhet al., 2019). While the gold nanoparticles of the plant leaf extract shows activity against
Col320 colon cancer cell line (Abel et al., 2016)
6) Polygonum hydropiper: No published report found from public domain.
Wetlands are in Peril - A Case Study of Son Beel Wetland of Assam, India
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 108
7) Achyranthes aspera: Extract of the Achyranthes aspera is capable to reduce AgNO3 as well as
AuCl3 by resulting the successful formation of AgNPs and AuNPs; while the AgNPs of Achyranthes
aspera can act as a strong mosquito lervicidal agent (Elumalai et al., 2016; Gude et al., 2012).
Acknowledgment: The authors are thankful to local residents for their cooperation during filed study.
The authors are also thankful to members of Voice of Environment organisation for their spontaneous
support to carry the research study and filed visit. Authors are also thankful to especially to Mr. Ishan
Trivedi for GIS based location map in this present Chapter.
References
1. Abel, E.E., Poonga, P.R.J., Panicker, S.G. (2016). Characterization and in vitro studies on
anticancer, antioxidant activity against colon cancer cell line of gold nanoparticles capped with
Cassia tora SM leaf extract. Applied Nanoscience, 6 (1), 121-129.
2. Bharali, P., Das, S., Bhandari, N., Das, A.K., Kalta, M.C. (2018). Sunlight induced biosynthesis
of silver nanoparticle from the bark extract of Amentotaxusassamica DK Ferguson and its
antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. IET
nanobiotechnology, 13 (1), 18-22.
3. Bhaskar, B.P., Baruah, U. Vadivelu, S., Raja, P., Sarkar, P. (2010). Remote sensing and GIS in
the management of wetland resources of Majuli Island, Assam, India. Tropical Ecology, 51(1),
31-40.
4. Brouwer, R., Bateman, I.J. (2005). Temporal stability and transferability of models of willingness
to pay for flood control and wetland conservation. Water Resources Research, 41, 1–6.
5. Butera, M.K. (1983) remote sensing of wetlands. IEEE Transactions on Geosciences and Remote
Sensing, 3, 383-392.
6. Chopra, R., Verma, V.K., Sharma, P.K. (2001). Mapping, monitoring and conservation of Harike
ecosystem, Punjab, India, through remote sensing. International Journal of Remote Sensing,
22(1), 89-98.
7. Das, R.K., Borthakur, B.B., Bora, U. (2010). Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using
ethanolic leaf extract of Centellaasiatica. Materials Letters, 64 (13), 1445-1447.
8. Deepa, R.S., Ramachandra, T.V. (1999). Impact of Urbanization in the Interconnectivity of
Wetlands. Paper presented at the National Symposium on Remote Sensing Applications for
Natural Resources: Retrospective and Perspective (XIX-XXI 1999), Indian Society of Remote
Sensing, Banglore, India.
9. Dhanya, A.T., Haridas, K.R., Divia, N., Sudheesh, S. (2012). Development of Zein-Pectin
nanoparticle as drug carrier. International Journal of Drug Delivery, 4 (2), 147.
Intercontinental Webinar Proceeding on “Ecosystem Services and UNSDG” held on 5 th June 2020
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 109
10. Elumalai, D., Kaleena, P. K., Ashok, K., Suresh, A., Hemavathi, M. (2016). Green synthesis of
silver nanoparticle using Achyranthes aspera and its larvicidal activity against three major
mosquito vectors. Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and food, 9 (1), 1-8.
11. Fatimah, I., Pradita, R.Y., Nurfalinda, A. (2016). Plant extract mediated of ZnO nanoparticles by
using ethanol extract of Mimosa pudica leaves and coffee powder. Procedia engineering, 148, 43-
48.
12. Garg, J.K., Singh, T.S., Murthy, T.V.R. (1998). Wetlands of India – Scientific note:
RSAM/SAC/RESA/PR/01/98. Space Applications Centre Ahemedabad, India.
13. Ghosh, A.K., Bose, N., Singh, K.R.P., Sinha, R.K. (2004). Study of spatio-temporal changes in
the wetlands of north Bihar through remote sensing. Proceeding of the ISCO 2004-13t
International Soil Conservation Organisation Conference-Brisbane, 2004, Conserving Soil and
Water for Society, Sharing Solutions.
14. Gude, V., Upadhyaya, K., Prasad, M.N.V., Rao, N.V. (2012). Green synthesis of gold and silver
nanoparticles using Achyranthes aspera L. leaf extract. Advanced Science, Engineering and
Medicine, 4, 1-6.
15. Jensen, J.R., Hodgson, M.E., Christensen, E., Mackey, H.E., Tinney, L.R.,Sharitz, R. (1986).
Remote sensing inland wetlands: a multispectral approach. Photogrammetric Engineering and
Remote Sensing, 52(1), 87-100.
16. João, E., Fonseca, A. (1996). The role of GIS in improving environmental assessment
effectiveness: theory vs practice. Impact Assessment, 14 (4), 371-387.
17. Kar, D., Dey, S.C. (1990). Fish Disease Syndrome: a preliminary study from Assam Bangladesh
Journal of Zoology, 18, 115-118
18. Kar, D., Nagarathna, A.V., Ramachandra, A.V., Dey, S.C.(2006).Fish diversity and conservation
aspects in an aquatic ecosystem in north-eastern India Zoos' Print Journal 21(7), 2308-2315.
19. Kumar, D., Choudhury, M., Rathore, A. (2020). Valuation of Ecosystem Services Benefits of
Son Beel Wetland in Assam, India: A Case Study of Natural Solutions to Climate Change Water.
Climate Change Conference, Hamburg University, Germany.
20. Manju, G., Chowdary, V.M., Srivastava, Y.K., Selvamani, S., Jeyaram, A., Adiga, S. (2005).
Mapping and characterization of inland wetlands using remote sensing and GIS. Journal of the
Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 33 (1), 51-66.
21. Netala, V.R., Kotakadi, V.S., Nagam, V., Bobbu, P., Ghosh, S.B., Tartte, V. (2015). First report
of biomimetic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous callus extract of Centellaasiatica
and their antimicrobial activity. Applied Nanoscience, 5 (7), 801-807.
22. Niraimathee, V.A., Subha, V., Ravindran, R.E., Renganathan, S. (2016). Green synthesis of iron
oxide nanoparticles from Mimosa pudica root extract. International Journal of Environment and
Sustainable Development, 15 (3), 227-240.
23. Pattaniak, C., Reddy, C.S. (2007). Needs of conservation of wetland ecosystem- A case study of
Ansupa lake (Orissa, India) using remote sensing based data. Science and technology policy
issues. National Academy of Science Letters 30.
24. Porrawatkul, P., Nuthong, W., Pimsen, R., Thongsom, M. (2017). Green synthesis of silver
nanoparticles using Barringtoniaacutangula (L.) Gaertn leaf extract as reducing agent and their
antibacterial and antioxidant activity. The Journal of Applied Science, 16 (Special), 75-81.
25. Ramsar and UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organization) (2012). Destination wetlands:
supporting sustainable tourism. Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Gland,
Switzerland World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid, Spain.
Wetlands are in Peril - A Case Study of Son Beel Wetland of Assam, India
Moharana Choudhury, Anu Sharma, Arghya Chakravorty and Joystu Dutta | Page 110
26. Saravanakumar, A., Ganesh, M., Jayaprakash, J., Jang, H.T. (2015). Biosynthesis of silver
nanoparticles using Cassia tora leaf extract and its antioxidant and antibacterial
activities. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 28, 277-281.
27. Sathirathai, S., Barbier E.B. (2001). Valuing mangrove conservation, southern Thailand.
Contemporary Economic Policy, 19, 109–122.
28. SCBD (2011). Possible indicators for water and water-related ecosystem services for the
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi biodiversity targets.
UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/INF/10.
29. Shaikh, R., Zainuddin Syed, I., Bhende, P. (2019). Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using
root extracts of Cassia tora L. and its antimicrobial activities. Asian Journal of Green
Chemistry, 3 (1), 70-81.
30. Sreenivasulu, V., Kumar, N.S., Suguna, M., Asif, M., Al-Ghurabi, E. H., Huang, Z. X., Zhen, Z.
(2016). Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Mimosa pudica plant root extract:
characterization, antibacterial activity and electrochemical detection of dopamine. International
Journal of Electrochemical Science, 11, 9959-9971.
31. Tiwari, A., Jain, K. (2013). Geospatial Framework For Dengue using Open Source Web GIS
Technology, Joint International Workshop of ISPRS WG VIII/1 and WG IV/4 on Geospatial
Data for Disaster and Risk Reduction Nov21-22, Hyderabad, India.
32. Verma, S. (2013). GIS-driven renewable energy framework for smart and sustainable cities, India
Geospatial Digest.
33. Work, E.A., Gilmer, D.S. (1976). Utilization of satellite data for inventorying prairie ponds and
potholes. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 5, 685-694.
