Survey of Wetlands in and around Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Wetlands are amongst the most productive ecosystem On the Earth [1,2], and provide many important services to human society. Wetlands are one of the most threatened habitats of the world. Wetlands in India, as elsewhere, are increasingly facing several anthropogenic pressures. Urbanization is the irreversible, and most dramatic, transformation of land affecting ecology and natural resources. This study was carried out to document the wetland status from June 2017 to March 2018 in and around Tiruppur district, TamilNadu. The study results demonstrated that there are 88 wetlands in and around Tiruppur districts and that they might be categorized in terms of dimension and state. Out of the 88 wetlands, 68% of the wetlands consist of land plots of less than 5 acres in size, followed by 26% of the wetlands consisting of 6-10 acres in size, 3% of the wetlands were approximately 11-15 acres in size while 3% of the wetlands were over 15 acres. According to the recorded usage of the wetlands, 42% were used for irrigation, 11% for irrigation and fisheries, 3% for recreational activities, and 44% for cattle cleaning, residential purposes including washing clothes, in the booming slums around the wetlands. For wastes dumped on wetlands, 2% were degradable wastes, 44% were non degradable wastes, and 54% were mixed wastes, including both degradable and non degradable waste. In Tiruppur town, 21% of the wetlands were enclosed by farm land, 8% were encircled by factories/companies, and 71% were surrounded by residential areas. During every summer season, 53% of the wetlands become dried out, 19% were partially dried up, and 28% of the wetlands retained their water holding capacity throughout the year. The results indicated that the decline of wetlands in and around Tiruppur district was due to waste dumping, construction near wetlands, lack of desilting and dredging, blocking of water channels, and the lack of strict laws. Apart from government regulation, creating wetland awareness, enlightened infrastructure development, sustainable water use planning, and implementation of zero discharge facilities practices are necessary in order to prevent the further deterioration on wetlands in Tiruppur district.