Information Brochure

NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY & ASSESSMENT

Sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India

Space Applications Centre Indian Space Research Organisation Ahmedabad

www.sac.gov.in

Synoptic view of India in satellite FCC

Major wetland types of India as seen in IRS LISS-III FCC

18th May 2011

From the Minister's Desk

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the "Information Brochure on National Wetland Inventory and Assessment" prepared by the Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad. Wetlands are areas of critical ecological significance that support rich biodiversity including a large variety of plant and animal species adapted to fluctuating water levels. Utility-wise, wetlands directly and indirectly support millions of people in providing services such as food, fibre and raw materials. Thus, their identification and protection becomes very important. Since, an updated geospatial database of these natural resources is the pre-requisite for effective management and conservation planning, National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) project was formulated as a joint programme of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, and Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad. I am informed that the latest remote sensing images from Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS P6) have been used to map the wetlands. The wetland types found in India are categorized under 19 classes. Mapping has been done at 1:50,000 scale and database organized at district, state and topographic map level. This National Atlas highlights the results in terms of statistics of various types of wetlands, extent of water, aquatic vegetation and turbidity in pre- and post-monsoon period. I am told that the total wetland area estimated is 10.002 Mha (excluding rivers). This atlas also provides database of high altitude wetlands nestled in the Himalayas at different elevation ranges. I also note that special efforts have been made to provide detailed information of important wetlands such as Ramsar sites etc. I am sure that this brochure will be very useful for general public and will serves as a quick information source of wetland status in our country.

FOREWORD
Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems and play crucial role in hydrological cycle. Wetlands directly or indirectly help in storm and flood control, water supply, providing food, fibre and raw materials, and in recreational benefits. However, the very existence of these unique resources is under threat due to developmental activities and population pressure. This calls for a long term planning for preservation and conservation of these resources. Creating an updated and accurate database that supports research and decision-making is the first step towards this. Use of advanced techniques like satellite remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) is helpful in acquiring and creating accurate and timely spatial database of large areas. Space Applications Centre (ISRO) took up this challenging task under the project 'National Wetland Inventory and Assessment' (NWIA) sponsored by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India. Two-date, IRS-P6 LISS-III data acquired during pre- and post-monsoon seasons are used for inventory of wet and dry season hydrology of wetlands. The wetlands found in India have been categorized following a 19 class hierarchical system and mapped following standard map projection. The map outputs include the status of water spread, aquatic vegetation and turbidity. This information Brochure titled 'National Wetland Inventory & Assessment' highlights the results of this project in a very concise way. I am sure that this brochure will serve as a useful source of information on wetlands to researchers, decision-makers, students and increase awareness on wetlands among general public.

Ahmedabad May 19, 2011

Brochure

SAC/ESPA/NWIA/BR/04/2011

Wetlands of India
Under the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment project
Sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India

Koothakulam tank, Tamilnadu

S. Panigrahy, J. G. Patel, T. V. R. Murthy and T. S. Singh

Ox-bow lakes / Cut-off meanders

2

BACKGROUND

major wetland types found in India include river/stream, inter-tidal mudflat, reservoir, tank, and lake/pond. India has also some of the unique wetlands like mangrove and coral reef. Wetlands being dynamic and influenced by both natural and man-made activities, need frequent monitoring. Regular updation of the status of the wetlands is all the more significant in view of accelerating pressure on the very existence of these resources due to developmental activities and population pressure being witnessed currently. With this background, National wetland inventory and assessment (NWIA) project was formulated. The prime objective of the project is to create a spatial database of the wetlands of India using satellite remote sensing data. Previous work has shown that there are a sizable fraction of small wetlands in the country. The numerous small wetlands are of great significance for local level management of hydrology. Thus, inventory at 1:50,000 scale is felt essential which will enable mapping of wetlands above the size of 2.25 ha area. NWIA project is sponsored by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), and executed by Space Applications Centre, ISRO, and Ahmedabad.

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems besides being a rich repository of biodiversity, and are known to play a significant role in carbon sequestration. Wetlands usually occur in depressions or along rivers, lakes, and coastal waters where they are subjected to periodic flooding. Some wetlands also occur on slopes associated with the ground water seeps. Conceptually, wetlands lie between well-drained upland and permanently flooded deep waters of lakes, floodplains of rivers and coastal environs. As per Ramsar convention entered into force in 1975, wetlands are defined as: 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 meters (www.ramsar.org). In addition, the Convention (Article 2.1) provides that wetlands: 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 first scientific national inventory of wetlands in the India carried out at 1:250,000 scale by Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad at the behest of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Govt. of India, using IRS satellite data (1992-93 timeframe) put the total wetland extent at about 8.26 million ha. The

NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT :

The main objectives of the project were: Wetland mapping and inventory at 1: 50 000 scale by analysis of digital IRS LISS III data of post and premonsoon seasons. Creation of digital database in GIS environment. Preparation of State-wise wetland atlases As per the definition of wetland, diverse types of classes get included like lagoon, beach, mangrove, coral reef, salt pan, aquaculture pond, waterlogged, ox-bow lake,

reservoir, lake, tank inter-tidal mudflat etc. For the current inventory, a classification system based on IUCN/RAMSAR definition and amenable from remotely sensed data is used to categorise the wetlands. Total 19 types of wetlands were delineated using a hierarchical system that excludes rice fields. Wetland classification system Level I Inland Level - II Natural Lake/Pond Ox-bow Lake / Cut-off meander High Altitude wetland Riverine Wetland Waterlogged River/Stream Man-made Reservoir/Barrage Tank/Pond Waterlogged Salt Pan Coastal Natural Lagoon Creek Sand/Beach Intertidal Mud-flat Salt Marsh Mangrove Coral Man-made Salt Pan Aquaculture Pond Level - III Code 1000 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 2000 2100 2101 2102 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2200 2201 2202

This classification categorises inland and coastal wetlands at level-I followed by natural and man-made wetlands as level-II, which were further categorised into 19 types of wetlands. All these types show distinct signature in remote sensing data and identifiable with high accuracy.

NWIA Outputs
Eight spatial layers for wetland with a unique 16 digit identification code and nine base/reference layers are generated as digital database: Wetland extent: It is the wetland boundary Water spread: There are two layers representing post-monsoon and pre-monsoon water spread during the year of data acquisition. Aquatic vegetation spread: Layer pertaining to presence of vegetation (floating and emergent) is generated, as manifested on pre-monsoon and postmonsoon imagery. Turbidity level of open water: A layer pertaining to a qualitative turbidity of the open water in the wetlands rated as low, medium and high is generated for preand post-monsoon seasons. Small wetlands (<2.25ha) are mapped as point features. Base layers like major road network, railway, settlements, and surface drainage are created.

The results are organised in a seamless digital database for retrieval of information at district, state and national level. The State and National level results are brought out in Atlas form.
4

Inland wetlands types in India

Coastal wetlands types in India

5

NWIA Findings
Entire country including the main land and islands territories has been considered for inventory and assessment of wetlands. Total wetland area estimated is 15.260 Mha, which is around 4.63 per cent of the geographic area of the country. Total 201503 wetlands have been mapped at 1:50,000 scale. In addition, 555557 small wetlands (<2.25 ha) have also been identified. Excluding rivers/streams, the total wetland area estimated to be 10 Mha.
Category-wise distribution of wetlands in the country

Category-wise wetland distribution in the country

Sr. No. 1 2 Total Wetland category Inland Wetlands -Natural Inland Wetlands -Man-made Total - Inland 3 4 Coastal Wetlands -Natural Coastal Wetlands -Man-made Total - Coastal Sub-Total 5 Wetlands (<2.25 ha) Total wetland area(ha) 6623067 3941832 10564899 3703971 436145 4140116 14705015 555557 15260572 % of wetland area 43.40 25.83 69.22 24.27 2.86 27.13 96.36 3.64 100 Size wise distribution of wetlands in the country

Inland-Natural wetlands accounted for around 43.4 per cent of the total area, while Coastal - Natural wetlands account for 24.3 per cent. As far as wetland units are concerned tanks are maximum in number (122370) as mappable units. However, 555557 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) are mapped as point features (3.64 %).

The wetland status in terms of open water and aquatic vegetation show significant seasonal change. There is a significant reduction in the extent of open water (about 32.5%) from post-monsoon to pre-monsoon (8.60 Mha to 5.80 Mha). It is reflected in all the Inland wetland types. Aquatic vegetation is observed in lake/pond, riverine wetland, ox-bow lake, tank/pond and reservoir. The aquatic vegetation in wetlands (floating and emergent) is more during pre-monsoon (14 %) than during postmonsoon (9 %).
6

Area under Aquatic Vegetation Aquatic Vegetation

Postmonsoon (ha) 1322837

Premonsoon (ha) 2065096

The qualitative turbidity of water in wetlands is low in 37.3% areas, moderate in 48.5% and high in 14.2% area in post-monsoons season. During pre-monsoon season low turbidity was observed in 32.6% area, moderate turbidity in 51.1% and high turbidity in16.3% area.
Postmonsoon (ha) 3206003 4168401 1226394 Premonsoon (ha) 1888493 2967523 945204

Inter-tidal mud flat, Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat

Area under turbidity levels Low Moderate High

Type-wise wetland area of India

Wettcode 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1201 1202 1203 1204 2101 2102 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2201 2202 Wetland category Lake/Pond Ox-bow lake/ Cut-off meander High altitude wetland Riverine wetland Waterlogged(Natural) River/Stream Reservoir/Barrage Tank/Pond Waterlogged(Man-made) Salt pan(Inland) Lagoon Creek Sand/Beach Intertidal mud flat Salt Marsh Mangrove Coral Reef Salt pan(Coastal) Aquaculture pond Sub-total Wetlands (<2.25 ha) Total Total wetland area (ha) 729532 104124 124253 91682 315091 5258385 2481987 1310443 135704 13698 246044 206698 63033 2413642 161144 471407 142003 148913 287232 14705015 555557 15260572 % of wetland area 4.78 0.68 0.81 0.60 2.06 34.46 16.26 8.59 0.89 0.09 1.61 1.35 0.41 15.82 1.06 3.09 0.93 0.98 1.88 96.36 3.64 100.00

Type-wise wetlands
The major wetland types in inland category are river/stream, reservoir, tank/pond and lake/pond. In coastal wetland category major types are inter-tidal mudflat, lagoon, and creek. Among all the wetland types river/stream is the major type, occupying 5.26 Mha area (34.46%).

Linaganmakki reservoir, Shimoga district, Karnataka

Reservoirs occupy 2.48 Mha (16.26%), inter-tidal mudflat occupy 2.41 Mha (15.82%), tanks/ponds occupy 1.31 Mha area (8.6%) and lakes/ponds occupy 0.71 Mha area(4.78%).

Mangroves, Coral reefs, Beach and High altitude lakes (>3000 m elevation), though contribute very small percentage to total wetlands, are some of the unique wetland types of India. There are 178 Lagoons and 4703 high altitude lakes in the country.

wetlands, are mapped and a detailed inventory prepared for the first time. Apart from their ecological significance, the high altitude wetlands play crucial role in biodiversity, wild life habitat and socio-economic aspects.

High altitude lakes: Part of Arunachal Pradesh

State-wise wetland distribution in India

The country has thirty five States/Union Territories(UTs). State-wise distribution of wetlands showed that

Lakshadweep has 96.12% of geographic area under wetlands followed by Andaman & & Nicobar and Islands(18.52%), Daman Diu(18.46%)

Gujarat(17.56%), have the highest extent of wetlands. Puducherry(12.88%), West Bengal(12.48%),

Assam(9.74%), Tamil Nadu(6.92%), Goa(5.76%), Andhra Pradesh(5.26%), and Uttar Pradesh(5.16%) are wetland rich states. The least extents(less than 1.5 % of the state
IRS LISS-III images of magrove (Bhitarkanika, Orissa), coral reef (Lakshdweep) and lagoon (Asthamudi, Kerala) with field photographs.

geographic Delhi(0.93%),

area)

have followed

been by

observed

in

Mizoram(0.66%) Meghalaya(1.34%).

Haryana(0.86%),

Sikkim(1.05%),

Nagaland(1.30%), and

The Himalayan region is dotted with hundreds of lakes from low elevation to the high elevations. Lakes lying above 3000 m elevation, known as high altitude

State/Union Territory-wise wetland area in India

States
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 State Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Punjab Uttarakhand Haryana Delhi Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Bihar Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura Meghalaya Assam West Bengal Jharkhand Orissa Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Goa Kerala Tamil Nadu Total Wetland area (ha) 391501 98496 86283 103882 42478 2771 782314 1242530 403209 7477 155728 21544 63616 13988 17542 29987 764372 1107907 170051 690904 337966 818166 3474950 1014522 1447133 643576 21337 160590 902534 15017354 % of state geographic area 1.76 1.77 1.71 1.94 0.86 0.93 2.29 5.16 4.40 1.05 1.78 1.30 2.85 0.66 1.59 1.34 9.74 12.48 2.13 4.49 2.50 2.65 17.56 3.30 5.26 3.36 5.76 4.13 6.92

Union Territory
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Union Territories Chandigarh Daman & Diu Dadra & Nagar Haveli Lakshadweep Puducherry Andaman & Nicobar Islands Total Wetland area (ha) 350 2068 2070 79586 6335 152809 243218 % of UT geographic area 3.07 18.46 4.25 96.12 12.88 18.52

List of states having more than 5 per cent of geographic area under wetlands
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 State Lakshadweep Andaman & Nicobar Islands Daman & Diu Gujarat Puducherry West Bengal Assam Tamil Nadu Goa Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh % of state geographic area 96.12 18.52 18.46 17.56 12.88 12.48 9.74 6.92 5.76 5.26 5.16

List of states having more than one Mha area under wetlands
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 Gujarat Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Maharashtra State Wetland area (ha) 3474950 1447133 1242530 1107907 1014522 9

IINLAND WETLAND INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT

Inland Natural Wetlands

Tamil Nadu has highest number of lakes (4369) followed by Uttar Pradesh (3684) and West Bengal (1327). Ox-bow lakes/Cut-off meanders are observed in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Orissa. Large number of riverine wetlands exists in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. Type-wise Inland wetland area of India
Sr. No. Wetland category Natural 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lake/Pond Ox-bow lake/ Cut-off meander High altitude wetland Riverine wetland Waterlogged River/Stream Sub-total Man-made 7 8 9 10 Reservoir/ Barrage Tank/Pond Waterlogged Salt pan Sub-total Wetlands(<2.25h a Total 14894 122370 5488 60 142812 555557 744027 2481987 1310443 135704 13698 3941832 555557 11120456 22.32 11.78 1.22 0.12 35.44 5.00 100 11740 4673 2707 2834 11957 11747 45658 729532 104124 124253 91682 315091 5258385 6623067 6.56 0.94 1.12 0.82 2.83 47.29 59.56 No. of wetlands Wetland area (ha) % of wetland area

Distribution of Inland wetlands List of states having large area under inland wetlands Lakes/Ponds Sr. No. State 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Assam Manipur Rajasthan Gujarat Andhra Pradesh Bihar Jammu & Kashmir Number 4369 3684 1327 1175 15 65 40 8 514 36 Area (ha) 316091 122531 58654 51257 39123 38269 23550 21843 20281 13762

Ox-bow lakes/ Cut-off meanders Sr. No. State Number 1 Uttar Pradesh 1672 2 West Bengal 867 3 Bihar 989 4 Assam 873 5 Orissa 79

Area (ha) 51371 19550 16172 14173 728

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Riverine Wetlands Sr. State No. 1 Uttar Pradesh 2 Jammu & Kashmir 3 West Bengal 4 Assam 5 Bihar

Inland Man-made Wetlands Number 1638 88 490 139 200 Area (ha) 61100 9594 8654 4258 2118 Andhra Pradesh has highest number of reservoirs (4527) followed by Madhya Pradesh (2005), Uttar Pradesh (1608), Orissa (1379) and Gujarat (1213). Details are summarised below. Large number of Tanks/ponds exists in Tamil nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Reservoirs/Barrages Sr. State No. 1 Andhra Pradesh 2 Madhya Pradesh 3 Maharashtra 4 Gujarat 5 Karnataka 6 Rajasthan 7 Orissa 8 Uttar Pradesh 9 Chhattisgarh 10 Tamil Nadu Tanks/Ponds Sr. State No. 1 Tamil Nadu 2 Karnataka 3 Maharashtra 4 Andhra Pradesh 5 Rajasthan 6 Gujarat 7 Madhya Pradesh 8 Chhattisgarh 9 Uttar Pradesh 10 Orissa

Number 4527 2005 759 1213 70 979 1379 1608 604 99

Area (ha) 404499 392455 368135 248979 213527 190600 189972 105641 90389 56419

Number 19343 10386 15845 13708 10731 8818 15199 6906 5441 6441

Inland Natural - Riverine Wetland

Area (ha) 237613 222030 208669 201677 151027 73873 64768 40226 33263 29301
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List of states having large number of small wetlands (area <2.25 ha) Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 State West Bengal Uttar Pradesh Orissa Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan No. of wetlands (area < 2.25 ha) 138707 97352 66174 44952 34123

Inland Man-made Reservoir Small village tanks/ponds are also useful wetlands. Small wetlands (<2.25 ha) are demarcated as point feature. There are 555557 such wetlands exists in the country. West Bengal has highest number of small wetlands (138707), followed by Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Cluster of small wetlands in part of West Bengal as seen in IRS LISS-III image
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State-wise wetland area under different inland wetland types

Sr No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 State/UTs Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Punjab Chandigarh* Uttarakhand Haryana Delhi* Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Bihar Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura Meghalaya Assam West Bengal Jharkhand Orissa Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Daman & Diu* Dadra & Nagar Haveli* Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Goa Lakshadweep* Kerala Tamil Nadu Puducherry* Andaman & Nicobar Islands* Lake/ pond 13762 52 1934 160 2081 801 49 38269 122531 20281 15 18 3 39123 185 300 501 51257 58654 3204 712 208 23550 9003 21843 638 499 2643 316091 1120 45 729532 Ox-bow lake/ Cut-off meander 373 63 24 51371 16172 520 9 64 387 461 14173 19550 83 728 26 93 6 15 6 104124 High altitude wetland 109170 387 142 3050 11422 82 124253 Riverine wetland 9594 306 61100 2118 1272 4258 8654 1629 980 174 7 2 1051 410 127 91682 Waterlogged (Natural) 77 3373 220 4751 608 24492 163957 35214 8146 423 3525 133 2946 1033 47685 58038 292 13859 240 157 34611 594 6892 4448 17 20305 14739 20 450795 River/ Stream 231597 55558 59864 167 80133 17025 1074 312570 607315 298408 4131 134244 19254 16677 13497 7420 24841 637164 559192 97743 223522 179088 315526 275877 380 732 299730 385839 179731 9362 65162 136878 2113 6571 5258385 Reservoir/ Barrage 25132 41817 11858 20319 1775 479 190600 105641 8612 164 1547 856 27 3320 1562 2833 22672 48177 189972 90389 392455 248979 125 1286 368135 404499 213527 2363 26167 56419 280 2481987 Tank/ Pond 6 134 3526 14 108 7573 260 151027 33263 4822 95 41 187 186 150 921 20470 5688 29301 40226 64768 73873 88 13 208669 201677 222030 396 2435 237613 867 16 1310443 Salt pan 12283 71 8 1295 41 13698 Area in ha Total Wetland inland (<2.25 ha) wetland area 2240 391501 471 5049 9 816 10529 301 34123 97352 17582 281 1119 267 541 146 2983 167 6081 138707 13227 66174 27823 44952 9708 10 39 21668 18037 13864 167 2592 18294 144 94 555557 98496 86283 350 103882 42478 2771 763364 1242530 403209 7477 155728 21544 60973 13988 17542 29987 764372 886090 170051 525248 337966 818166 667899 603 2070 907816 1038787 635289 12851 119714 780161 4264 7006 11120456

Total * - Union Territories

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INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT OF WETLANDS IN COASTAL STATES : India has long coast line and large area under Coastal wetlands. Area estimates of various wetland categories for all the Coastal States and Union Territories have been carried out using GIS layers encompassing wetland boundary, water-spread, aquatic vegetation and turbidity. In the Coastal States/UTs, 120019 wetlands have been delineated. In addition, 289459 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) are also demarcated as point feature. Total wetland area estimated is 9.70 Mha which is around 6.94 per cent of the geographic area. Total inland wetlands are 5.58 Mha and coastal wetlands are 4.12 Mha. The most dominant type of wetland is inter-tidal mud flats (2.39 Mha) occupying around 24.7 % of total wetland area. The other major coastal wetlands are mangrove (471407 ha), aquaculture pond (284589 ha), lagoon (246044 ha), creek (206698 ha) salt pan (148913 ha) and coral reef (142003 ha). Though the coral reef is of minor category, they have significance in Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. Presence of aquatic vegetation is observed in many wetland types. The area under aquatic vegetation is significantly high during pre monsoon than that of post monsoon period. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water varied from moderate to low turbidity.
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Type-wise wetland area in Coastal States

Wetland Category Lake/Pond Ox-bow lake/ Cut-off meander High altitude wetland Riverine wetland Waterlogged River/Stream Reservoir/Barrage Tank/Pond Waterlogged Salt pan(Inland) Lagoon Creek Sand/Beach Inter-tidal mud flat Salt Marsh Mangrove Coral Reef Salt pan(Coastal) Aquaculture pond Sub-Total Wetland (<2.25 ha) Total
Area under Aquatic Vegetation Aquatic Vegetation Area under turbidity levels Low Moderate High

Total Wetland Area(ha) 434798 20305 82 11224 119484 2144357 1533138 997435 34039 1407 246044 206698 63033 2394692 161144 471407 142003 148913 284589 9414792 289459 9704251
Postmonsoon 949115 Postmonsoon 1918883 2352922 983915

% of Wetland Area 4.48 0.21 0.00 0.12 1.23 22.10 15.80 10.28 0.35 0.01 2.54 2.13 0.65 24.68 1.66 4.86 1.46 1.53 2.93 97.02 2.98 100.00
Premonsoon 1659469 Premonsoon 989477 1750282 720354

Type-wise wetland distribution in Coastal States/UTs

14

Wetland area summary of Coastal States/UTs

Area in ha Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 State West Bengal Orissa Gujarat Daman & Diu Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Goa Lakshadweep Kerala Tamil Nadu Puducherry Andaman & Nicobar Islands Total Inland wetland area 886090 525248 667899 603 907816 1038787 635289 12851 119714 780161 4264 7006 5585728 Coastal wetland area 221817 165656 2807051 1465 106706 408346 8287 8486 79586 40876 122373 2071 145803 4118523 Total wetland area 1107907 690904 3474950 2068 1014522 1447133 643576 21337 79586 160590 902534 6335 152809 9704251 % of state geographic area 12.48 4.49 17.56 18.46 3.30 5.26 3.36 5.76 96.12 4.13 6.92 12.88 18.52 6.94

Type-wise area estimates of coastal wetlands

Area in ha
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 State West Bengal Orissa Gujarat Daman & Diu Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Goa Lakshadweep Kerala Tamil Nadu Puducherry Andaman & Nicobar Islands Total Lagoon 89023 22289 24 47407 72 23674 38442 25057 56 246044 Creek 149898 41636 9594 97 80 3404 212 1777 206698 Sand/ Beach 3338 6046 6508 204 4873 15891 1897 519 733 2354 9798 809 10063 63033 Inter-tidal mud flat 2726 25514 2260365 1054 22249 31767 1663 3286 33164 505 12399 2394692 Salt Marsh 144268 57 614 4002 6108 66 6029 161144 Mangrove 209330 23395 90475 63 30238 41486 967 1752 7315 285 66101 471407 Coral Reef 33547 55179 3899 49378 142003 Salt pan 4937 1726 92173 63 7025 17725 812 2970 22889 150320 Aquaculture pond 1557 19952 8823 71 240474 2779 10739 194 284589

15

Mangrove and coral reef are important wetland areas. Area under mangroves is about 471407 ha. West Bengal has 209330 ha area under mangrove followed by Gujarat (90475 ha), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (66101 ha), Andhra Pradesh(41486 ha), Maharashtra (30238 ha) and Orissa (23395 ha).

Coastal Natural - Mangrove

16

Coral reefs are observed in Lakshdweep (55179 ha), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (49378 ha), Gujarat (33547 ha) and Tamil nadu (3899 ha). Total area under Coral reef is 142003 ha.

Coastal Natural Coral Reef

17

There are 178 lagoons having area about 246044 ha which is 1.61 % of total wetland area of the country. Orissa has 89023 ha area under lagoons followed by Andhra Pradesh (47407 ha) and Kerala (38442 ha). Inter-tidal mud -flats are observed in all the coastal states accept Lakshdweep and Kerala. Gujarat has large area under inter-tidal mud-flats (2260365 ha) followed by Tamil Nadu (33164 ha), and Andhra Pradesh (31767 ha).

Coastal Natural Lagoon

Coastal Natural - Inter-tidal mud flat

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INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT OF HIGH ALTITUDE LAKES : All wetlands lying above 3000 m elevation are designated as high altitude ones in this work. Mapping was carried out is done at 1:50,000 scale. Small lakes (<2.25 ha area) are also mapped as point features and assigned 1.0 ha nominal area. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from ASTER/SRTM data was used to generate elevation contours and classify the lakes as per altitude range. Spatial database of these lakes was prepared at state and district level using coding system, where each lake has a unique identification number. High altitude lakes give unique signature on the satellite images, Depending upon the state of water whether liquid phase or frozen, the boundary of the lakes are prominent and can be discerned with high accuracy. The pre and post monsoon images reflect the status of water, vegetation and state (solid/liquid). Number, Size Wetlands and Altitudinal Distribution of

than 500 ha area. However, they contribute to highest share of lake area (75.61%). Number wise, the smallest size lakes (<2.25 ha) have the largest share (42.44%), followed by very small ones (<10 ha) with 42.33% share.

Distribution of high altitude lakes as per size Size-wise distribution of high altitude lakes No. of Area Class Range lakes (ha) Very Large Large Medium Small Very Small < 2.25 ha Total > 500 ha 100-500 ha 25-100 ha 10-25 ha < 10 ha < 2.25 ha 12 30 179 495 1991 1996 4703 95462 4861 7434 7559 8429 2505 126249

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4

The Indian Himalayas cover approximately 591,000 km2 or 18 per cent of India's land surface and spread over six Himalayan States viz Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and some parts of West Bengal. Total 4703 lakes are mapped which lie above 3000 m elevation. This includes 1996 small lakes (<2.25 ha area). The total area of these lakes is 126249 ha. The lakes categorised under various sizes, show that there are only 12 lakes belonging to the very large size category having more

5 6

Altitude-wise, maximum numbers of lakes are observed in the elevation range of 4000-5000 m. There are 2642 lakes (56.2% of total number) mapped in this elevation range with 100817 ha area (79.9% area). Very large lakes are also observed in this elevation range. Only 761
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lakes are mapped in the very high altitude range of >5000 m elevation.

contributes 9.4% of area, indicating small size of the lakes. Only 3 lakes are mapped in West Bengal state with 82 ha area (contributing to 0.06% of total lake area).

Distribution of lakes as per altitudinal range in Himalaya (high: 3000-4000m, higher: 4000-5000m and very high :> 5000 m). Altitude-wise distribution of high altitude lakes Sr. No. 1. 2. 3. Category High Altitude Higher Altitude Very high Altitude Total Altitude range (m) 3000-4000 4000-5000 >5000 No. of lakes 1300 2642 761 4703 Area (ha) 8460 100817 16972 126249
Sr. No. 1 2 3

Distribution of high altitude lakes in Himalayan states, India State-wise distribution of high altitude lakes
State Arunachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Sikkim Uttarakhand West Bengal Total No. of lakes 1672 272 2104 534 118 3 4703 Lake area (ha) 11863 617 110131 3325 231 82 126249 % Lake area 9.40 0.49 87.23 2.63 0.18 0.06 100.00

State-wise distribution of high altitude lakes Two states: Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh harbour very large number of high altitude lakes. Jammu and Kashmir has the highest share of lakes. Number-wise, around 44.7% of lakes (2104 number) are found in this state with 87.24% share of total area. Arunachal Pradesh with 1672 lakes

4 5 6

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High Altitude lakes in various states (frozen, semi-frozen and liquid) as manifested on LISS-III imagery
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INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT OF WETLANDS IN NORTH-EASTERN STATES :

Area estimates of various wetland categories for NorthEastern (N-E) states have been carried out using GIS layers encompassing wetland boundary, water-spread, aquatic vegetation and turbidity. Total wetland area estimated is 1074254 ha (1.07Mha) that is around 4.1 per cent of the geographic area. Analysis of wetland status in terms of open water showed around 57.2 % (614279 ha) and 52.2 % (560965 ha) during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon respectively. Aquatic vegetation (floating/emergent) occupies around 5.8 % (62217 ha) and 10.4 % (112190 ha) area of wetland during post- and pre-monsoon respectively. In the N-E states, 8018 wetlands have been delineated. In addition, 11585 small wetlands (< 2.25 ha) are also demarcated as point feature. The most dominant type of wetland is rivers/streams (857228 ha), occupying around 79.8 per cent of wetland area. The other major wetland types are lakes/ponds (91402 ha), waterlogged (63342 ha), ox-bow lakes (15614 ha). Though the high altitude lakes (14472 ha) is of minor category, they have significance in state of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Presence of aquatic vegetation is observed in many wetland types. The area under aquatic vegetation is significantly high during pre-monsoon than that of postmonsoon period. Qualitative turbidity analysis of the open water varied from moderate to low turbidity.
Type-wise wetland distribution in NE states Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Wetland Category Lake/Pond Ox-bow lake / Cut-off meander High altitude wetland Riverine wetland Waterlogged(Natural) River/Stream Reservoir/Barrage Tank/Pond Waterlogged(Man-made) Aquaculture pond Sub-Total Wetlands (<2.25 ha) Total Area under Aquatic Vegetation Aquatic Vegetation Area under turbidity levels Low Moderate Total Wetland Area(ha) 91402 15614 14472 5530 63342 857228 10309 1580 549 2643 1062669 11585 1074254 Postmonsoon 62224 Postmonsoon 184443 415324 14512 % of Wetland Area 8.51 1.45 1.35 0.51 5.90 79.80 0.96 0.15 0.05 0.25 98.92 1.08 100.00 Premonsoon 112197 Premonsoon 126910 417666 16390

Type-wise wetland distribution in N-E States

High

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In North-Eastern states 4.1 % of the total geographic area (1.07 Mha) is under wetlands. Assam has about 9.7 % area under wetlands whereas Mizoram has 0nly 0.66 % area under wetlands. State-wise wetland area in N-E states Area in ha
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 State/UT Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura Meghalaya Assam Total Geographic Area (sq. km.) 7096 83653 16579 22327 21087 11040 22420 78438 262640 Wetland Area 7477 155728 21544 63616 13988 17542 29987 764372 1074254 % of total wetland area 0.70 14.50 2.01 5.92 1.30 1.63 2.79 71.15 100.00 % of state geographic area 1.05 1.86 1.30 2.85 0.66 1.59 1.34 9.74 4.09 Open water Postmonsoon 7189 66222 20938 45304 13799 9847 27912 423068 614279 Premonsoon 5035 57516 20650 39391 13778 7023 27420 390152 560965 Aquatic Vegetation Postmonsoon 7 6002 7 16756 37 1779 819 36817 62224 Premonsoon 7 5924 604 23500 42 5232 852 76036 112197

State-wise wetland distribution in N-E states

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IMPORTANT WETLANDS OF INDIA The Wetland Ecosystem in India is spread over a wide range of varied climatic conditions, which is ranging from the wetlands in cold Jammu and Kashmir to hot and humid conditions in Peninsular India, thus there is a great diversity of these Wetlands. Many of these wetlands are unique from the point of biodiversity, scenic beauty, shelter of migratory birds, resident avifauna etc. Under the conservation of Wetlands in India, numbers of wetlands have been recognized that are a part of National Parks and Sanctuaries. Twenty-five wetlands have been declared as Ramsar Sites. Various types of sanctuaries and parks like bird, wildlife, marine, and education have been notified in the country. Maps of 150 selected important wetland sites of India were prepared with a 5 km buffer area. Sample wetland maps of Wular Lake, Jammu and Kashmir are shown below. Similar maps have been prepared for 150 wetland sites.

Wetland map - 5 km buffer area of Wular Lake

IRS LISS-III FCC - 5 km buffer area of Wular Lake

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Koothakulam tank, Tamilnadu

Tirla main, Katihar district, Bihar

Nal Sarovar, Gujarat

Badiasicha bil, Darrang, Assam

Loktak lake, Manipur

Pong Dam, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh

Sandi Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh

Bawlee Chor, Purbi Champaran, Bihar

For further details please contact: Director Space Applications Centre, ISRO Ambawadi Vistar (P.O.) Ahmedabad 380015 Email: director@sac.isro.gov.in Adviser Ministry of Environment and Forests Paryavaran Bhavan CGO Complex New Delhi 110003

Cover: Part of Loktak Lake, Manipur Back cover: Mangrove along a creek, Goa