East Calcutta Wetlands

Overview
The wetlands to the east of Kolkata are well known over the world for their multiple uses. The resource recovery systems, developed by the local people through ages using waste water from the city, is the largest in the world. In the process, it treats the waste water and has saved the city of Kolkata from constructing and maintaining a wastewater treatment plant. It also is the only metropolitan city in the world where the State Government has introduced development controls to conserve the water bodies. The wetland is largely human made, comprising intertidal marshes including salt marshes, salt meadows with significant waste water treatment areas like sewage farms, settling ponds, oxidation basins, East Calcutta Wetlands has been designated as a Ramsar Site in November 2002.

Justification for Designation as Ramsar Site
East Calcutta Wetlands is a perfect example of wise-use wetland ecosystem where usage of city sewage for traditional practices of fishries and agriculture is practiced.
The wetland ecosystem is one of the rare examples of combination of environmental protection and development management where a complex ecological process has been adopted by the local farmers by mastering the resource recovery activities.
It is the largest ensemble of sewage fed fish ponds in the world in one place.

Biodiversity Values

Flora
There are about 100 plant species which have been recorded in and around the East Calcutta Wetlands. These include Sagittaria montividensis, Cryptocoryne ciliata, Cyperus spp., Acrostichum aureum, Ipomoea aquatica, etc.

Fauna
Amongst the rare mammals marsh mongoose and small Indian mongoose, palm civet and small Indian civet are significant in and around East Calcutta Wetland area. About 20 mammals are reported from this region. Threatened reptiles like, Indian mud turtle is also reported occasionally from the adjacent locality. Presently, more than 40 bird species comprising of both local and migratory types are reported to visit these cluster of wetlands. Among these grebe, coot, darter, shag, cormorant, teals, egrets, jacanas, snipes, tern, eagle, sand piper, gulls, rails and kingfishers are significant.

Social & Cultural Values
The East Calcutta Wetlands, in its fish ponds fields and garbage farms provide three basic securities, which are critical for the third world countries. These are food, sanitation and livelihood. The East Calcutta wetlands is the vital component of the friendly water regime that provides ecological security to the mega city of Kolkata.

Threats
Land use changes over a period of time has led to conversion of some of the largest fish farms from pisciculture to paddy cultivation.
Large number of industries make unauthorised connection of their waste water effluent without treatment to the recently laid sewers emptying into the city outfall channels flowing eastwards.

Conservation Measures
This has caused substantial amount of metal deposition in the canal sludge and rendered the waste water incapable of ensuring the edible quality of the fish and vegetable grown in the wetland.

The conservation area boundary for the East Calcutta wetlands and waste-recycling region was mapped in 1985 by the State Planning Board, Government of West Bengal. This wetland area is protected by order of the Calcutta High Court in 1992, which prohibits change in land use. High Court directed the State government to take recourse to statutory cover, if required, to prevent any private alienation of land. Recently, the Director of land and Land Records, Govt.of West Bengal has issued a fresh order prohibiting any conversion of land use within the conservation area boundary and declaring all such conversions, that have taken place since 1992, as void. Filling up of water bodies in this area is not permissible under West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act, 1979 as well as under the West Bengal Inland Fisheries Act, 1984 (with amendment in 1993).