World Wetlands Day: Good for Wetlands, Good for Communities

In early February of 2024, I joined a team from my host organization, the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), at the World Wetlands Day event hosted at the Sirpur lake in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. I manned a booth with the CEE team and interacted with visitors international and local alike on a hot Indore day. At one point I decided to finally visit the lakeside and appreciate the site that was handpicked for this very special occasion. As I walked out of the cluster of stalls within the ‘World Wetlands Day’ pavilion and onto the lake front, a distinct cool breeze welcomed me after having stood in the midday sun. I knew, in theory, the importance that Sirpur lake holds for local livelihoods, migratory birds, and eager tourists. However, that cool, refreshing breeze made me understand, more than any article or information sheet that I had read, just how vital this ecosystem really is.

Sirpur lake. A lake with a green shore in the distance. A light blue sky with scant clouds. A small island and mud in the foreground. Calm waters. — Sirpur wetland. Photo courtesy of the author.

What is World Wetlands Day?

World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2^nd every year worldwide. This year a World Wetlands Day event was hosted by the government of Madhya Pradesh alongside India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change at Sirpur Lake, a Ramsar Wetland Site¹ in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The 2024 theme for World Wetlands Day was “Wetlands and Human Wellbeing” and was inspired by the importance of healthy human ecology with regard to wetlands globally. The significance of this theme was underlined by the World Wetlands Day event location at Sirpur Wetland. This particular wetland is of both practical and cultural importance to the communities around it. Sirpur wetland supports fishing livelihoods, enables medicinal plant cultivation, protects communities from flooding in storms and monsoon, and regulates the micro-climate. Culturally, Sirpur wetland has historical and religious significance and serves the surrounding communities by providing a space for recreation and environmental education. The importance of Sirpur Wetland transcends borders. The wetland benefits several species of migratory birds in addition to its other ecological services such as hosting biodiversity, preventing erosion, and maintaining hydrological regimes².

A ‘World Wetlands Day’ event gate with English and Hindi greetings. Politicians pictures accompany this gate. People are walking under this gate and into the event. — The World Wetlands Day entrance. Photo courtesy of the author.

Red carpet floor. A large cube showcasing different Indian Ramsar Wetlands. Flowers on string draped off of the cube. Bunting draped across the event space. Small kiosks of different World Wetlands Day exhibitions. — A signboard showcasing different Indian wetlands inside the World Wetlands Day exhibition zone. Photo courtesy of the author.

CEE at World Wetlands Day

Sirpur Wetland’s urban setting sets it apart from many other wetlands. Wetland resources are more intensely used by the surrounding dense and relatively high population. Hence there is a greater demand for conservation efforts by all stakeholders at grassroots and institutional levels. In order to maintain a healthy, reciprocal relationship with the wetland, communities who rely on the wetland for clean water, income, and numerous other benefits must be made aware of Sirpur’s importance. This was at the forefront of the CEE team’s exhibition at the 2024 World Wetlands Day celebration in Madhya Pradesh. Our exhibit featured games, brochures, stickers, and postcards curated to engage visitors with our message of wetland conservation. A fan favorite was a game of snakes and ladders in which players had to share actions to avoid and actions to adopt that would protect the wetland and surrounding communities.

Two women play snakes and ladders while a man in the background having won the game does a happy dance. — Visitors engaging in one of the educational games that CEE set up inside the World Wetlands Day exhibition. Photo courtesy of the author.

Schools, families, and employees of the Indore Municipal Corporation responsible for keeping the wetland clean and safe were all interested in exploring our stall. Towards the end of the day, a woman along with her family members approached our exhibit. After this woman had inspected some of CEE’s communication materials on wetlands, we asked where she was from. She proudly replied ‘my home is very near to here.’ She added on that she hadn’t visited Sirpur wetland before but after this first experience, she was excited to come back to enjoy the wetland.

I was so thankful to have participated in exhibiting the importance of wetlands with CEE. I was both thrilled and touched watching people learn how they can be an active part in the conservation of the Sirpur wetland. It was especially rewarding to communicate messages about conservation from the government and civil society to the grassroots communities who can and will drive the conservation of such a special and vital ecosystem.

Participating in CEE’s community outreach was also insightful because I was able to see CEE disseminating environmental education on multiple organizational levels. We shared our resources and games with government, private sector, civil society, and community stakeholders. CEE, as it does so often, served as a bridge between those actors who have the power to activate wetland conservation.

The author showing school children some of the interactive and informational material at the CEE exhibition kiosk at the World Wetlands Day exhibition. — Michael engaging students at the CEE exhibition at the World Wetlands Day event. Photo courtesy of the author.

Visit to Yashwant Sagar & Visit to Gulawat Lotus Valley

After attending the World Wetlands Day event at Sirpur Wetland, I accompanied the CEE team to Yashwant Sagar to speak to a local community about the importance of the wetland. This community draws benefits from the wetland particularly through their fisheries and floriculture.

A male community member standing proudly holding a lotus grow in Yashwant Sagar. More lotus flowers in bags to his left. Subject standing in front of a vehicle. — Lotus yield in Yashwant Sagar. Photo courtesy of the author.

The community had a special affinity for their place next to the water and shared knowledge with the CEE team about the opportunities and community endeavors the wetland enables. Similarly, in the neighboring Gulawat Lotus Valley, local communities have capitalized on the natural beauty of the wetland and eco-tourism. The Gulawat Lotus valley, even off-season, hosts beautiful natural scenery complete with blooming lotus flowers, towering trees, and a gorgeous view of the water.

The edge of Yashwant Sagar wetland. A small tourist boat sits on the shore. Palm trees line the horizon. A cloudless blue sky looms over. — At the edge of Yashwant Sagar. Photo courtesy of the author.

Michael stands between two community members living near Yashwant Sagar. The three people are standing on a small fishing raft in the middle of a fishery. — A fishery near Yashwant Sagar. Photo courtesy of the author.

Conclusion

Communities that rely on economic activity like aquaculture and eco-tourism are also inherently reliant on healthy wetland ecosystems. Nature conservation is more than just maintaining or protecting nature. It is also about protecting the individuals and communities that are part of those ecosystems. Nature conservation should necessarily involve the surrounding communities because they are environmental stewards as much as they are beneficiaries of conservation. CEE’s work, whether in rural areas with farmers, with schoolteachers and children, or with institutional stakeholders always comes back to equipping people with the knowledge and capacity to make a difference for the future of our environments. Wetlands serve as crucial habitats for migratory and resident species, provide livelihoods for surrounding communities, and are valued for their natural beauty by local people and tourists alike. Wetland versatility and diversity benefits from aware and considerate community engagement like that which was fostered and demonstrated at the World Wetlands Day at Sirpur Wetland.

A signboard with a quote from the secretary of the Ramsar convention. — Photo courtesy of the author.

Small boats parked at the edge of Yashwant Sagar wetland. — Yashwant Sagar. Photo courtesy of the author.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Mr. Satish Awate, Mr. Navneet Wadkar and Dr. Avinash Madhale from CEE Central and Dr. Sweta Purohit from CEE Ahmedabad for their support and guidance in my participation in CEE’s World Wetlands Day activities.

Footnotes

Ramsar Sites are wetlands that have been “recognized as being of significant value not only for the country or the countries in which they are located, but for humanity as a whole” (Wetland of International Importance, 2022).
Hydrological regimes are defined as “the distribution over time of water in a watershed, among precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture, groundwater storage, surface storage, and runoff” (Hydrologic Regime Definition, 2024).

Works Cited

“Wetlands of International Importance.” The Convention on Wetlands, The Convention on Wetlands, Convention on Wetlands Secretariat, 13 Nov. 2022, www.ramsar.org/about/our-mission/wetlands-international-importance.

“Hydrologic Regime Definition.” Law Insider, Law Insider Inc., 2024, www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/hydrologic-regime#:~:text=Hydrologic%20regime%20means%20the%20timing,and%20valley%20and%20stream%20morphology. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Author

Michael (Mukund) Dean Adamson

Michael is serving as an American India Foundation (AIF) Banyan Impact Fellow with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE); Ahmedabad, Gujarat. For his fellowship project, he is planning and implementing climate resilient actions designed to support village livelihoods and conserve local ecology. Michael has lived in India before while studying Hindi in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. This experience left him captivated by the breadth of culture in India and inspired his degree program choice. Michael is a recent graduate of SOAS, University of London with a Dual Honours BA degree in Development Studies and Languages and Cultures (South Asia). Michael focused his studies on the intersections between Adivasi and Dalit communities and development. This focus culminated in an undergraduate dissertation on the concept of backwardness and its effect on Adivasi communities. During his undergraduate degree Michael participated in internships with the Indian Health Service and Outreach International in research roles. In the future, Michael hopes to work with vulnerable communities on climate resilient interventions that value indigenous knowledge and are sensitive to culture and livelihood needs. Michael enjoys playing rugby.

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