ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC VALUATION OF WETLANDS IN BIRBHUM DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL, INDIA FOR CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE

ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC VALUATION OF WETLANDS IN BIRBHUM DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL, INDIA FOR CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN SCIENCE (CONSERVATION BIOLOGY) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BURDWAN 2015 SANTANU GUPTA PG DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION BIOLOGY DURGAPUR GOVERNMENT COLLEGE (THE UNIVERSITY OF BURDWAN) Dedicated To My Late Father Sri Sushanta Gupta Dr DEBNATH PALIT Department of Botany and P.G Department of Conservation Biology Durgapur Government College Mob: 09832175737 Ph: 0342-2634565 (R) 0343-2504344 (O) E-mail: debnath_palit@yahoo.com J.N Avenue, Durgapur-713214 West Bengal, India CERTIFICATE This is to Certify that the thesis entitled ‘ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC VALUATION OF WETLANDS IN BIRBHUM DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL, INDIA FOR CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE’ which is being submitted by Sri Santanu Gupta for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science (Conservation Biology) of The University of Burdwan is a record of his own research work He carried out the work under my guidance in the Department of Conservation Biology of The University of Burdwan Such help or source of information as has been availed of during the investigation is duly acknowledged It is further certified that the matter embodied in the thesis has not been submitted for award of any other degree by him or by anybody else Date: Place: Durgapur [Debnath Palit] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my Sir, Dr Debnath Palit for his guidance and inspiration which enable me to complete this thesis I am indebted to Prof Ambarish Mukherjee, Department of Botany, Burdwan University and Dr Gautam Aditya, Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Calcutta University for providing motivation and encouragement during the course of this work I am especially grateful to Dr Dipak Ranjan Mondal, former Principal of the college and Sri Achintya Kumar Pal, Officer in Charge of the college for their advice and encouragement I also owe a special debt of gratitude to my teachers Dr Utpal Singha Roy, Head PG Department of Conservation Biology; Dr Bharati Mukherjee, Head Department of Botany; Dr Aloke Mukherjee and Sir Sanghamitra Sanyal whose teachings have been a constant source of knowledge and inspiration Thanks also go to the Librarian and Office staff of the Durgapur Government College, for their timely help I would be failing in my duties if I not mention the encouragement and blessings I received from Dr Arnab Banerjee, former faculty member of PG Department of Conservation Biology, Durgapur Government College I specially acknowledge the financial assistance and guidance received from the Inspire Division, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India in connection with the project I worked in I would like to thank Dr Amalesh Mukherjee, Scientist G, DST Government of India for his continuous support I would like to thank the Office of the District Magistrate, Birbhum; Birbhum Zilla Parishad, Birbhum and Fisheries Department, Suri, Birbhum for their timely help and cooperation I would like to thank Dr Rudolf de Groot, Department of Environmental Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, USA; Prof Kevin J Murphey, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; Prof Georg A Janauer, Department of Limnology and Oceanography, University of Vienna, Austria; Dr Zsolt Török, Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Romania and Dr Sudip Chattopadhyay, Department of Biotechnology NIT Durgapur for inspiring myself through their continuous motivation and encouragements I wish to specially thank my co-research scholars Miss Aparajita Mukherjee, Mrs Debalina Kar and Mrs Sharmila Roychowdhury for their help and suggestions I would like to acknowledge the love, inspiration and heartily support I received from my Late father Sri Sushanta Gupta, Smt Tanulata Gupta and my sister Chaitali Gupta towards the successful fulfillment of my Ph.D research Place- Durgapur Date- (Santanu Gupta) CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1-12 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 13-71 CHAPTER III: DISTRICT AT A GLANCE 72-84 CHAPTER IV: MATERIAL AND METHODS 85-109 CHAPTER V: RESULTS V (A) INVENTORY OF WETLANDS 110-123 V (B) ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF WETLANDS 124-165 V (C) WETLAND VALUATION 166-212 V(D) WETLAND CONSERVATION 213-220 CHAPTER VI: DISCUSSION 221-241 CHAPTER VII: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 242-249 CHAPTER VIII: REFERENCES 250-289 LIST OF TABLES Sl No Table No Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Table 14 Table 15 Table 16 17 18 Table 17 Table 18 19 20 Table 19 Table 20 21 22 Table 21 Table 22 23 24 Table 23 Table 24 25 26 Table 25 Table 26 27 28 29 Table 27 Table 28 Table 29 Title Wetland types initially recognized by the Ramsar Convention (1989) Hierarchical classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats, according to Cowardin et al (1979) Wetland classification suggested by Dugan (1990) Classification system for Wetland Types (Davis, 1994) Classification of wetlands proposed by Gopal and Sah (1995) Major functions of wetlands Area Estimates of Wetlands of India (in million ha) Area Estimates of Wetlands of India (in million ha) during different inventories State-wise list of wetlands covered under National Wetlands Conservation Programme Major threats to Indian wetlands at a glance List of Ramsar Sites of the India (RAMSAR, 2015) Definitions of “Value” Reasons for under valuation of wetlands Services provided by inland wetlands Ecological valuation criteria and measurement indicators Socio-cultural valuation criteria and measurement indicators Monetary valuation methods, constraints, and examples The relationship between ecosystem functions and services and monetary valuation technique Administrative Units of the District Demographic profile of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Area estimates of wetlands in Birbhum Data collection sheet for inventory and ecological characterization of wetlands Data collection sheet for stakeholder analysis Data collection sheet for function analysis of wetland services Data collection sheet for ecological valuation of wetlands Data collection sheet for sociocultural valuation of wetlands Data collection sheet for Economic valuation of wetlands Data collection sheet for conservation of wetlands List of wetlands (Block wise) in Birbhum District, West Bengal, India Page 20 20 - 21 21 - 23 23 - 24 25 – 26 27 - 28 35 36 36-39 41 42 - 43 45 - 46 46 - 47 49 51 52 - 53 60 - 62 62 - 63 74 77 - 78 82 87 - 90 92-93 94- 97 99 100 102 103-109 116-119 30 31 Table 30 Table 31 32 Table 32 33 Table 33 34 Table 34 35 Table 35 36 Table 36 37 Table 37 38 Table 38 39 Table 39 40 Table 40 41 Table 41 42 Table 42 43 Table 43 44 Table 44 45 Table 45 46 Table 46 47 Table 47 48 Table 48 49 Table 49 50 Table 50 Classification of wetlands according to area Aquatic species in floral composition of wetlands in Birbhum District, West Bengal Checklist of avifauna associated with the wetlands of Birbhum District during the study period Checklist of piscifauna associated with wetlands of Birbhum District during the study period List of wetlands prioritized for wetland valuation studies in Birbhum district Ecosystem services of wetlands as recorded during field survey in Suri subdivision, Birbhum district Ecosystem services of wetlands as recorded during field survey in Bolpur Sriniketan subdivision, Birbhum district Ecosystem services of wetlands as recorded during field survey in Rampurhat subdivision, Birbhum district Statement of ecosystem services of wetlands in Birbhum district based on field data Squred cosines of the ecosystem services to the first two (F1 and F2) axis of the Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) List of ecosystem services for prioritization according to Gross Importance (%) for ecological, sociocultural and economic valuation of wetlands List of ecosystem services selected for valuation of wetlands (monetary) Key species (%) observed in wetlands of Birbhum district during the present study Key water bird species recorded from wetlands in Birbhum during the study period Population of notable water birds in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal Economic valuation of wetlands in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Range of monetary value of different ecosystem services in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Economic valuation of fish resources in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Economic valuation of water for irrigated agriculture in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Economic valuation of water sports and activities in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Economic valuation of water for livestock in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India 121 128-130 133-137 139-141 162-163 170-171 172-173 174-175 176-177 184-185 187-189 189 192-193 194-196 199 204 206-207 207-208 208-209 209-210 210-211 51 Table 51 52 Table 52 53 Table 53 54 Table 54 55 Table 55 Economic valuation of livestock fodder in wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India List of conservation measures to be implemented through different Socioeconomic Developmental Plans (SDPs) Site specific conservation measures for Suri subdivision, Birbhum district Site specific conservation measures for Bolpur Sriniketan subdivision, Birbhum district Site specific conservation measures for Rampurhat subdivision, Birbhum district 211-212 215-216 218 219 220 LIST OF FIGURES Sl No 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Figure No Title Figure Ramsar Sites of the world (RAMSAR, 2015) Figure Map showing State-wise number of wetlands in India (Note: Figure in parenthesis represents total number of wetlands in respective State) Figure Relationships among ecological components and processes that comprise a wetland and the ecosystem services they deliver Figure The components of the Total Value of a wetland Figure The Total Economic Value Framework Figure The Total Economic Value (TEV) of the main ecosystem services provided by wetlands (US$/ha/year) Figure Birbhum district (administrative) at a glance Figure Wetland map in Birbhum district Figure Framework for valuation of wetland services in Birbhum district, West Bengal India Figure 10 Location of wetlands in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Figure 11 Inventory of wetlands in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Figure 12 Wetland area composition in different subdivisions of Birbhum district Figure 13 Distance of studied wetlands from nearest locality (village/town) in Birbhum district Figure 14 Distribution studied wetlands in three subdivisions of Birbhum district in relation with Elevation, Geographical position and Size (area in hectare) Figure 15 Biplot showing interrelationship of different morphometric attributes studied in wetlands of Birbhum district during the study period Figure 16 Geomorphologic features of areas in and around the wetlands of Birbhum District Figure 17 Elevation (meter) of studied wetlands from MSL in Birbhum district Figure 18 Water regime of studied wetlands Figure 19 Composition of water regime in studied wetlands Figure 20 Composition of water source in studied wetlands Figure 21 Species richness in different plant groups in wetlands studied Figure 22 Status of water birds in wetlands of Birbhum district Figure 23 Population trend of water birds in wetlands of Birbhum district Page 33 39 48 50 55 59 75 83 91 114 115 120 120 121 122 125 126 127 127 128 130 132 132 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath MATERIAL AND METHODS Study site: Birbhum District (Figure-1) lying within 23 ° 32´30´´ and 24 ° 35´0´´ N latitude and 88 ° 01´40´´ and 87 ° 05´25´´E longitude covers an area of 454.00 sq km It is traditionally a very important district in relation to agriculture, education and culture Wetlands herein are of both natural and manmade origin Birbhum district formed by three subdivisions and nineteen blocks Almost all parts (at block level) of Birbhum District were surveyed from 2013 to 2014 Figure-1: Birbhum district (administrative) at a glance Code used W1 -Pansiuri Bandh , W2 - Datindighi , W3 -Gouri Bazar bandh , W4 -Kalidighi , W5 -Salkhana bandh, W6 ,Kagashdighi , W7 -Gopalnagar bandh , W8 – Lalbandh, W9- Lakshmi sayer, W10- Chandidaser Par, W11FalgramDighi, W12- Rampurhatdighi, W13- KarkoriaDighi, W14- Shibogramdighi, W15- Shivtala Bandh, W16NalhatiDighi, W17- Sanko bazar dighi, W18- M urarai Rail Station bandh, W19- Paikardighi, W20- Tilpara Barrage Appraisal of Designated Usages / Effective Wetland Management Strategies (EWMs): A suitable management plan could be devised properly only if characterization of the type and source of pollutants entering the ecosystem is known Investigation of the physico-chemical and biological parameters in this regard helps in assessing the status, which is required for evolving appropriate restoration methods towards conservation and management In order to document different Designated Usages/ Effective Wetland Management, Strategies (EWMs), sample wetlands (1 from each block) were chosen in Birbhum 1889 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath district for monitoring (2013 to 2014), depending on the location, size and use pattern.In this context, a detailed survey study was carried out using NLCP guidelines 30 to derive the Designated Usages/Effective Wetland Management Strategies (EWMs) required for studied wetlands RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Designated Usages / EWMs for wetlands in Birbhum district: Figure-2 enumerates different EWMs for wetlands in Birbhum district Our study was focused to make a conception over what people (dependent directly/indirectly to wetlands) need for their water logged wealth So we enlisted some preferable management practices according to easiness of implementation along with of public interest i.e public demand Diversion and treatment of sewage, weed removal, reduced usage of water for agricultural practices are important measures in general A majority of wetlands harboring in urban area required Prohibition on Construction in wetland premises and Prohibition on wetland filling on priority basis which was also supported by earlier findings 31-32 Figure-2: A schematic diagram on the major Designated Usages/Effective Management approaches for wise use of wetlands in Birbhum district [Source: Ecological studies and structured questionary survey on 20 wetlands (blockwise) during 2013 to 2014 Here the names inside the circle indicate the suitable EWMs (Effective Management Strategies) with direct strong demand on wetlands Other outside the circle indicates those having variable degree of demands] 1890 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath Majority of Wetlands in the vicinity of rural villages need Bank protection, Desiltation/Dredging and improvement of water quality In some specific wetlands there is a malpractice of adding uncontrolled poultry manure to wetland water which causes further problems to aquatic life During winter months, there are some instances where wetland premises become horrible due to frequent picnic activities and where destruction of natural habitat was common leading to loss of biodiversity Removal of plastic waste and other solid waste along with improvement in picnic revenue system will be key developmental measures for these wetlands Similar observations were also documented by Aber et al.33 , Cools et al.34 and MoEF35, 36 in previous works Very few wetlands attributed with ownership dispute which may be minimized by consulting with local self-governments and administrative units According to our results, there is a massive need to construct bathing ghats (concrete structure for bathing) in the wetland premises This may be due to improper allocation/use of Governmental grants which is of serious concern As a drought prone district, people of villages depend on these wetlands for their day to day activity Bathing ghats are created poorly by authorities in the wetland which needs governmental attention Rural livelihood greatly depend on culture of fish fauna, and as a food source it has immense importance Results revealed that "effective and planned" societies need to formulate in different wetlands Some fish harvesting families who have strong will towards effective fish culture lack proper funding Government aided support will be a push for them along with creation of marketing chain We noticed that there are instances where under a several Governmental schemes by which huge amount of money (in lakhs) has been mobilized to create roads, infrastructure or other similar projects (which are beneficial to society) but if a small fraction of the money was allowed to incorporate to promote fisheries, agricultural practices or for promotion of duckery, village based small industries like brick, handloom, traditional knowledge based medical hub etc encompassing these wetlands; the scenario might be changed enhancing the socioeconomic profile as noticed in earlier works by Palit and Mukherjee 37 ; Gupta et al.38 , Downward et al.39 , van Dam et al.40 Among the other EWMs Promotion of tourism activities, Poultry farming, Floriculture are the leading ones according to popularity Our significant findings include formation of wetland protection groups (WPGs) and mass awareness programmes (MAPs) for local stake holders over wetland bioresources which may lead to wise use of wetlands in this part of country ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India (No DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2010/ [242] (INSPIRE Program Sl No 223).Authors are thankful for this financial assistance REFERENCES E Maltby and T Barker The wetlands Handbook, 1st edition Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.2009 E Maltby The Changing Wetland Paradigm In: (Maltby, E and Barker, T edited) The wetlands Handbook.1st, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford 25.2009 1891 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath Millenium Ecosytem Assessment Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis Island Press, Washington DC 2005 Williams, M Understanding Wetlands In: (Edited by Williams, M.) Wetlands: A Threatened Landscape Blackwell, Oxford: 1-3.1990 J.G Gosselink and E Maltby Wetland Losses and Gains pp 296-322 In: (Williams M edited) Wet- lands: A Threatened Landscape Blackwell, Oxford.1990 B Gopal, R.E Turner, R.G Wetzeland D.F Whigham Wetland Ecology and Management National Institute of Ecology and International Scientific Publications, Jaipur: 512.1982 A.P Gore Mires: Swamp, Bog, fen and Moor Eco- systems of the World 4A and 4B.1983 R.R Sharitz and J.W Gibbons Fresh water Wet- lands and Wildlife, DOE symposium series 61(US Department of Energy Office of Scientfic and Tech- nical information, OakRidge, TN) 1265.1989 A.E Lugo, M.M Brinson and, S Brown Forested Wetlands: Ecosystems of the world 15 Elsevier, Amsterdam: 527.1990 10 W.J Mitsch Global Wetlands: Old World and New Elsevier, Amsterdam 967.1994 11 A.J McComb and J.A Davis Wetlands for the future Gleneagles Publishing, Adelaide: 780.1999 12 D.F Westlake, J.K vet and A Szczepanski.Produc- tion Ecology of Wetlands: The IBP Synthesis, Cam-bridge University Press, Cambridge.1999 13 P.A Keddy Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conser- vation Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 614.2000 14 W.J Mitschand J.G Gosselink Wetlands, 3rd edition John Wiley, New York.2000 15 L.H Fraserand P.A Keddy The World’s largest Wet- lands: Ecology and Conservation Cambridge Univer- sity Press, Cambridge.2005 16 D Patil, G Bala and A Mukherjee Sedges in wet- lands of Birbhum District West Bengal Flor and Faun 2006, 122: 269-274 17 D Palit and A Mukherjee An inventory of wetlandsin Birbhum District West Bengal and their successional characteristics Envir and Eco 2007, 25(1):173-176 18 N.P Palit and D Patil Ecological investigation on wetlands of Birbhum District West Bengal Ind Jl of Land Syt Eco Stud., 2008, 312: 112-117 19 D Palit and A Mukherjee Characterization of Physico-chemical properties of water and soil in Lalbandha fresh water wetland in Birbhum District West Bengal Ecol.Envir and Cons 2010, 15 (4): 239-245 20 D Patil, A Mukherjee and S Gupta Seasonal lim- nology and macrophyte diversity associated with wetlands in Birbhum District, West Bengal, India In: National Conferenceon Conservation of Wetlands and its Biodiversity (Proceedings: Contributed papers and abstracts, Department of Zoology, KendraparaAutonomus College, Kendra Para, Odisha, India: 72 2012a 21 D Palit and S Gupta Seasonal Changes in Limno- logical Parameters and Macrophyte Diversity As- sociated With Wetlands in Birbhum District, WestBengal, India Ind Jl of Pla Sci 2012b, (2-3): 97-115 1892 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath 22 K Turner Economics and wetland management Ambio, 59-63.1991 23 E Maltby Wetland management goals: wise use and conservation Landscape and urban planning, 1991, 20 (1), 9-18 24 H Roggeri Tropical freshwater wetlands: a guide to current knowledge and sustainable management Kluwer Academic Publishers 1995 25 R Johnston, J Cools, S Liersch, S Morardet, C Murgue, M Mahieu & G.P Uyttendaele, WETwin: a structured approach to evaluating wetland management options in data-poor contexts Environmental Science & Policy, 2013, 34, 3-17 26 M.J Gray, H.M Hagy, J.A Nyman & J.D Stafford Management of Wetlands for Wildlife In Wetland Techniques (pp 121-180) Springer Netherlands.2013 27 S Namaalwa, A Funk, G.S.Ajie & R.C Kaggwa A characterization of the drivers, pressures, ecosystem functions and services of Namatala wetland, Uganda Environmental Science & Policy, 2013, 34, 44-57 28 A Mukherjee & D Patil Appraisal of Use Pattern in W Prone Region F Journal of Applied Technology in Environmental Sanitation, 2013, (4), 141-146 29 R Smardon Wetland Ecology Principles and Conservation.2014, 813-817 30 Ministry of Environment and Forests Guidelines for National Lake Conservation Plan National river Conservation directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, New Delhi, pp 7-8, 2008 31 A Dixon, Hailu &T Semu Local Institutions, Social Capital and Sustainable Wetland Management: Experiences from Western Ethiopia.2013, 85-111 32 M.N Islam & D Kitazawa Modeling of freshwater wetland management strategies for building the public awareness at local level in Bangladesh Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 2013, 18 (6), 869-888 33 J.S Aber, F Pavri & S W Aber Conservation and Management: Wetland Planning and Practices Wetland environments: A Global Perspective, 2012, 218-230 34 J Cools, R Johnston, F.F Hattermann, W Douven & I Zsuffa Tools for wetland management: Lessons learnt from a comparative assessment Environmental Science & Policy, 2013, 34, 138-145 35 Ministry of Environment and Forest National Wetland Conservation Programme: Guidelines for Conservation and Management of Wetlands in India (Revised on 12.06.2009) Conservation and Survey Division, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi, pp 3-4, 2009 36 Ministry of Environment and Forests Conservation and management of Lakes: An Indian perspective National river Conservation directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India, New Delhi, pp.2010 37 D Palit & A Mukherjee Studies on water quality and macrophyte composition in wetlands of Bankura district, West Bengal, India Indian Journal of Plant Science, 2012, (2-3), 97-115 38 S Gupta, D Palit, A Mukherjee Eco-appraisal of wetlands in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India Lap Lambert Academic Publishing Germany.2013 39 R Downward, Endter-Wada & K Kettenring, Adaptive wetland management in an uncertain and changing arid environment Ecology & Society, 2014, 19 (2) 1893 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 Preliminary Santanu and Debnath 40 A.A van Dam, J Kipkemboi, D Mazvimavi & K Irvine A synthesis of past, current and future research for protection and management of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands in Africa Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2014, 22 (2), 99-114 *Corresponding Author: Debnath Palit Department of Conservation Biology, Durgapur Government College, Durgapur-713214, West Bengal, India 1894 JECET; Sep.2014- Nov 2014; Sec A, Vol.3.No.4, 1887-1894 International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology, Vol 3, No 6, 2014, 2136 – 2144 ISSN 2278-3687 (O) BIOSURVILANCE OF WETLANDS IN EASTERN INDIA (BIRBHUM, WEST BENGAL) FOR WISE USE Santanu Gupta1 and Debnath Palit2* SRF, 2*Head, PG Department of Conservation Biology Durgapur Government College J.N Avenue Durgapur 713214 Dist-Burdwan, West Bengal E-mail: conbiodgc_communications@yahoo.com (*Corresponding Author) Abstract: Biodiversity encompasses the grand total of all the different life forms of our planet This study represents an in depth assessment of key biological components in 20 wetlands of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India during 2010 to 2014 Total 26 families and 57 species of macrophytes, 25 species of birds and 35 species (16 families and orders) of fishes were observed Cyperaceae (17%), Lemnaceae (15%) and Poaceae (15%) encompasses higher abundance among macrophytes Anatidae represented by species, dominated the wetland bird community and maximum number of fish species were catalogued under the order Cypriniformes (15) Keywords: Conservation Biology, Wetland Biodiversity, West Bengal INTRODUCTION Wetland ecosystems are beauty of nature and wealth for future These are diverse ecosystems that link people, wildlife and environment in special and interdependent ways through the essential life-support functions of water (Maltby and Barker, 2009) A modified definition given by The World Conservation Union (IUCN), which is accepted by many, has been considered for defining the wetlands in this study This definition was adopted at the first meeting of convention in Ramsar, Iran in 1971, which stated that “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 meters” Wetland ecosystem forms an important environment for aquatic, semi-aquatic and moisture loving floral and faunal associations Wetlands have been extensively investigated for their ecology, management, conservation and restoration (Keddy 2000, Mitsch and Gosselink 2000, Fraser and Keddy 2005, Gupta et al 2013) Received Nov 6, 2014 * Published Dec 2, 2014 * www.ijset.net 2137 Santanu Gupta and Debnath Palit Macrophytes serve as a connection between the sediment, water, and (sometimes) atmosphere in wetlands, lakes, and rivers The most notable function that plants serve is as primary producers However, macrophytes are also involved in ecosystem processes such as biomineralization, transpiration, sedimentation, elemental cycling, materials transformation, and release of biogenic trace gases into the atmosphere Studies on macrophytes of Birbhum are well documented (Mukherjee and Palit, 2001, 2002) The water birds which inhabit wetlands for nesting, feeding and roosting are broadly defined as water birds In this paper, water birds, wetland dependent and associated birds are collectively termed as wetland birds Wetland factors that affect birds include availability, depth, and quality of water; availability of food and shelter and presence or absence of predators However, wetlands in India, are facing tremendous anthropogenic pressures (Prasad et al 2002), which can adversely influence the structure of bird communities (Kler 2002; Verma et al 2004; Therefore detail study on wetland avifauna is important to protect them However, few studies have been carried out on the status and diversity of wetland birds in this eco region (Mukherjee and Gupta 2012) Fishes are one of the important elements in the economy of many nations as they have been a stable item in the diet of many people Study on fish fauna in India has been well investigated through some good and novel studies pioneered by (Talwar and Jhingran 1991; Kar and Dey 2002; Kar et al 2004) According to IUCN (2004) the total number of known species world wise is about 1.5 million Many more are yet to be discovered For many taxonomic groups the species of temperate zones have been fully recorded But in tropical zones with highest biodiversity the biodiversity data is far from complete In this context, the present study on wetlands in Birbhum District for cataloguing extent of key wetland biota was carried out to support the philosophy of wise use for these wetlands in future MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 STUDY AREA Birbhum District (Fig 1) lying within 23032´30´´ and 24035´0´´ N latitude and 88001´40´´ and 87005´25´´E longitude covers an area of 454.00 sq km It is traditionally a very important district in relation to agriculture, education and culture Wetlands herein are of both natural and man-made origin Birbhum district is formed by three subdivisions and nineteen blocks Almost all parts (at block level) of Birbhum District were surveyed from 2010 to 2014 Biosurvilance of Wetlands in Eastern India (Birbhum, West Bengal) for Wise Use 2138 2.2 ASSESSMENT OF WETLAND BIOTA Observations on the aquatic macrophytes, wetland birds and pisci faunal occurrence at 20 wetlands distributed over 19 Blocks in Birbhum District were carried out through frequent field surveys at seasonal intervals which comprises pre-monsoon (April-May), monsoon (August-September) and post-monsoon (December-January) The annual assemblage (presence or absence) of macrophyte species were noted and plants were identified using standard literature by Cook’s (1996) The Birds were photographed by CANON Power Shot (SX 150 IS) and identified using “Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent” (Grimmett & Inskipp 2007) Fishes were identified up to the species level, with the help of standard keys (APHA 2005), books (Talwar and Jhingran 1991) and online databases (Fish Base, 2012) Site specific relative abundance (here after will be noted as three categories: a) Common1/Most abundan2: +++ (birds1/fish2 observed in >50-% of study sites); b) Uncommon/Less abundant: ++ (25-50%) and c) Less common/Rare: + (3% Table 1(b): List of wetland birds species documented from wetlands of Birbhum district Family Scientific names of wetland birds species Alcedinidae Alcedo atthisa, Halcyon smyrnensisa Anatidae Anas creccab, Anas streperab, Aythya ferniac, Dendrocygna bicolora, Dendrocygna javanicaa, Nettapus coromandelianusb Ardeidae Ardea purpureaa , Ardeola grayiia, Bubulcus ibisa , Egretta garzettaa Charadriidae Charadrius dubiusb, Charadrius alexandrinusb Ciconiidae Anastomus oscitansa Jacanidae Hydrophasianus chirurgusc, Metopidius indicusa Motacillidae Motacilla albaa, Motacilla flavaa , Motacilla citreolaa Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocorax nigera Rallidae Amaurornis phoenicurusb, Gallinula chloropusa, Porphyrio porphyriob , Fulica atrab 2143 Santanu Gupta and Debnath Palit Code used for site specific relative abundance (SSRA) of wetland bird species: a= Most abundant: +++ (>50-%); b= Less abundant: ++ (25-50%), c= Rare: + (50-%); b= Less abundant: ++ (25-50%), c= Rare: + (