Agro-environmental Innovations for Rural Development and Sustainable Conservation of Endemic Fishes of East Kolkata Wetlands


Gene Bank at Sardar Bheri

The project aims at sustainable rural development in East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) by expanding economic opportunity and risk spreading with replicable agro-environmental innovations. The conservation paradigm is about developing a gene bank for endemic fishes of this area and starting up a seed production unit for all such species to be bred over here. It conjoins poverty alleviation with environmental conservation of EKW, the only Ramsar site of West Bengal, currently facing threats of getting removed from the International list due to habitat loss, urban encroachment and waste escalation. It is important to restore wetland ecosystems as they are components of our natural capital and wealth creation potential. EKW has natural resource recovery system which is unique in the world. The main challenge lies in the fact that the livelihood of nearly 80,000 rural people (84% SC & ST), is bestowed on these fisheries and wetlands those are ignorant about the ecosystem and are economically deprived as well.

The basic idea is to address the problem is to conserving the unique ecosystem of East Kolkata Wetland along with poverty alleviation of the inhabitants for long-term sustainable environmental development. It would be using ‘community-ecosystem approach’ of participation, partnership and reciprocity for betterment of livelihood and ecological conservation towards sustainable rural development. This decision support research will recommend an equitable way to promote conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources at minimum opportunity cost. It would substantially help in poverty alleviation and assure social security by improving tenure rights and enhancing awareness of stakeholders.

Rural Innovative Fund (RIF):

The project has been commissioned in Sardar Bheri and is being funded under the Rural Innovative Fund of National Bank for Agricultural and Rural development (NABARD), Kolkata Regional Office, West Bengal.

Culture of Endemic Fishes and Seed Bank Development:

In this project we will try to commercially cultivate few indigenous fishes of East Kolkata wetlands. Due to pollution these fishes are in the verge of extinction. This project will conserve these fishes along with increment in the livelihood of the fishermen. We will cultivate Calbose, Mouralla, Mrigal, Bata, Sarpunti, Tangra, and Bhanda. Although culturing these fishes in wetland water is difficult but we will try to overcome the limitations with scientific methodology.

1)  We will culture the fishes in natural condition in one rain harvested pond and try to breed them.

2)  The seeds will be collected from different ponds and rivers of Naihati, Barasat and other areas.

3)  The fishermen of the bheri will be trained so that the culture can be done more scientifically.

4)  In the second year fishes will be transferred to other ponds and as they breed, a chain of indigenous fish culture will form.

5)  Along with fish culture self help groups will also be formed and training will be given on Azola cultivation. Azola is a kind of algae with high nutrition value and it is used as bio fertilizer. It has high market value.

6)  Other than this, health camps will be arranged in the bheri. For the women toilets and kitchen will be constructed.

Indigenous Fishes

 
Common Name
Scientific Name
Description

Bele gule

Odontamblyopus rubicundus

Greenish black on the back and upper side of the body, dull white on the side

Kholse

Colisa fasciatus
Greenish/grayish green with orange –blue oblique bars along the sides
Sar Punti
Puntius sarana
Lustrous silvery back light gray with greenish tint.
Tangra
Mystus vittatus
Silvery with a golden tint. Several bluish or blackish longitudinal bands
Mrigal
Cirrhinus mrigala
Body silvery with dark gray along the back. Belly whitish.
Bhanda

Nandus nandus

Greenish brown on the back and sides of the body. Three vertical broad patchy bands.
Mouralla

Amblypharyngodon mola

 Silvery body with a deep silvery gray lateral band.



Green Water Technology


Green Water

In order to supply clean drinking water to the remote rural areas of India at price affordable for the poorest of the poor, SAFE in collaboration with Water Life India has developed a creative combination of an indigenous green technology with innovative rural marketing model as an alternative to huge water treatment plants that need massive investment. The technology has been developed by technocrats who are alumni to IITs, enabling it to deliver clean potable water to economically challenged communities using surface water resources. The unique system of retail distribution of this water operates by developing a partnership with government, panchayats and NGOs.

The water treatment system doesn't use the so called Reverse Osmosis Technology leading to huge loss of sweet water resources rather it uses indigenously developed micro filter columns and Ultra Violet light to remove inorganic and biological contaminants. It presents a revenue generation model for the village Self Help Groups and uses health awareness campaigns as the only marketing tool. More than 1000 such plants for community drinking water have already been installed in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chattisgarh. The deliverable product meets the WHO standards of potable water and IS10500 standards in India.
 

 

Restoration & Sustainable Development of East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW): A Threatened Ramsar Site


Women Orientation at a Community Meet

East Kolkata Wetlands, the only Ramsar site in the state of West Bengal in India, is currently facing challenges of getting deleted from Ramsar wetland list owing to severe urban encroachment and pollutant loading. It is renowned as model of multiple use wetland having resource recovery system developed and maintained by the local commune. Water flows through fishponds that cover 4000 ha and acts as solar reactors as well for continued biochemical reactions towards resource recovery. The entire area integrates 294 bheries (fishponds) supporting 104 wetland species with a few halophytes. An impressive range of migrant and resident birds can be spotted there, including the endemic marsh mongoose.

To save the unique EKW, West Bengal government has passed an ordinance “The East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Maintenance) Ordinance” that defines the land-use pattern in the 12,500-hectare area on the eastern fringe of Kolkata.

Conserving this unique system should be a priority alongside long-term sustainable environmental management. The present project reviews the ecological status of the wetland through habitat evaluation, assessment of social dependence and anthropogenic interferences and further tries to identify the ecological fronts for habitat restoration that can be met through community participation and partnership. (more...)

Habitat Preferences of Indigenous Fish Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) of varying size classes in reclaimed wastewater wetland


Fingerlings of Fish Mrigal Before
Being Released into the Water

The understanding of the factors governing Mrigal distribution is essential for proposing wetland conservation plans in this coastal environment. The main objective of the study is to quantify the spatial distribution of Mrigal in reclaimed marshes relative to both biotic and abiotic characters.

The modeling approach in this study will help understand the changes in habitat preferences of Mrigal according to the size, apply these results in surveying endemic fish abundance in inland habitats, and provide decision support for the restoration of these wetland habitats.

Water woes in Riparian South: Studies on trans border river water conflicts in Indian Eco-region

About 40 percent of the world population is directly dependent upon fresh water from rivers and about two third of these people live in developing countries of South Asia.

Increasing population in co-riparian South Asian countries has triggered the desire for control of water resources, breeding transnational conflicts. Such conflicts are strangling sustainable development and economic growth but the efforts are still bilateral and have failed to develop a common minimum agenda.

This project has initiated in depth studies on water disputes in South Asian countries over a number of controversial treaties like the Indus Water Treaty between India & Pakistan, Ganges Water Treaty between Bangladesh and India and Mahakali River Treaty between India & Nepal. This project of SAFE continues to envisage the need to detect sustainable alternatives at the regional community echelon rather than looking out for non-feasible mandates from political hierarchy.