Assam’s Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary breathes easy after eco-sensitive zone notification
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the eco-sensitive zone of the Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary on the south-western edge of Guwahati.
What is Deepor Beel?
Deepor Beel is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam, India.
It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
It is a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has been listed since November 2002.
Considered as one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra valley of Lower Assam, it is categorised as a representative of the wetland type under the Burma monsoon forest biogeographic region.
It is also an important bird sanctuary inhabiting many migrant species.
What are the concerns?
A garbage dump and encroachment for human habitation and commercial units.
A railway track which is set to be doubled and electrified, on its southern rim.
Deepar Beel’s water has become toxic and lost many of its aquatic plants that elephants would feed on.
Do You Know?
Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.