CONSERVATION OF DEEPORBEEL WETLAND IN ASSAM

Abstract

Deeporbeel Wetland is a permanent, freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the South of the main river south-west of Guwahati city. It is a large natural wetland having great biological and environmental importance besides being the only major storm water storage basin for the Guwahati city. The wetland is endowed with rich floral and faunal diversity. In addition to huge congregation of residential water birds, the Deeporbeel ecosystem harbours large number of migratory waterfowl each year. The wetland has been designated as a Ramsar Site in November 2002. During the last few years the wetland area has undergone rapid changes in respect of industrialization, agricultural activities, forest cover, human settlement and water spread in its fringe zone resulting in an imbalance in the wetland eco-system. Moreover, inflow of wastewater from Guwahati city to this wetland is degrading its water quality making it hazardous for the aquatic flora and fauna. The major threats faced by the wetland are deterioration of water quality, gully erosion in the catchment and silt deposition in the wetland, mining / quarry operation in the catchment area, encroachment (conversion of wetland area for agriculture, industry and human settlement), decrease in biological diversity, growth of obnoxious aquatic weeds, etc. In this study three aspects were taken into consideration with regard to the conservation of Deeporbeel Wetland. These aspects are • Surface Water Quality of the wetland. • Erosion in the Wetland Catchment and subsequent silt deposition in the wetland. • Hydrological study.