The Kaikondrahalli Lake Monitoring Committee (MAPSAS), along with United Way of Bengaluru and BBMP, is celebrating World Wetlands Day on 2nd February, at Kaikondrahalli Lake.
Every year, this day marks the signing of the Ramsar Convention, an “intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources”, in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran.
What is a wetland? A wetland is an area that holds water either permanently or seasonally. The Convention uses a broad definition of the types of wetlands covered in its mission, including lakes and rivers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands and peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, near-shore marine areas, mangroves and coral reefs, and human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.
For India, the Convention on Wetlands came into force on Feb 1, 1982. Currently 26 sites in India (with a surface area of 689,131 hectares) are designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with 5 located in the south
– Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh
– Ashtamudi Wetland, Sasthamkotta Lake, Vembanad-Kol Wetland, Kerala
– Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu.
(Source: The Annotated Ramsar List, Sep 2012)
2014 is the UN International Year of Family Farming – so the Ramsar Convention has chosen “Wetlands & Agriculture” as the World Wetlands Day theme for 2014. This comic strip suggests the way forward when wetlands come under threat.
Free download, courtesy: www.ramsar.org
If you would like to know more about wetlands, please visit the Ramsar Convention website here.
In Bangalore, wetlands occupy about 5% of the city’s area. (Source: Conservation And Management Of Wetland Ecosystems In Karnataka, IISc paper). To know more, do join the Kaikondrahalli Lake Team on World Wetlands Day, for what promises to be a fulfilling Sunday morning.
Place: Kaikondrahalli Lake, Sarjapur Road
Date: Sunday, 2nd Feb 2014
Time: 8:00 am – Treasure hunt for adults and children (Gate opposite Fire Station)
8:15am – Storytelling and puppet-making workshop for younger children (Amphitheater)
There is no entry fee to participate. Please carry a cap and your own drinking water.
(More info on the poster below.)
At the end of the events there will be a short community meeting to discuss how each of us can help preserve urban wetlands through individual and community-based efforts. Light snacks will be served. To facilitate proper planning, and arrangements for snacks, please confirm your attendance by emailing Vanessa Correa <vanessa.correa@uwbengaluru.org>.
