Conserving Sanctity Of Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary Ramsar Site By Community Participatory Approach

Wetlands are amongst the World’s most productive ecosystems and provide a wide array of benefits. They also provide an ecological niche for the growth of rich flora and fauna, and enable the people to derive economic benefits. However, the growing population pressures, vastly changing social processes, and developmental activities have put a heavy toll on wetlands around the world. Especially, after the Ramsar Convention, need for sustainable management of these valuable ecosystems is strongly felt and many positive initiatives are taken during last decade. The Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India have devoted considerable efforts to wetlands and their conservation since the setting up of a National Committee on Wetlands in 1983. The scheme on conservation and management of wetlands was started in 1986-1987 at national level with the objective of understanding a comprehensive study and maintenance of naturalness of important wetlands like Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary-The 1st Ramsar Site of Gujarat, India. Wetlands are highly dynamic systems, which continuously interact with other systems and anthropogenic activities in their catchments in various ways. All ecosystems interact with adjoining ecosystems in some manner, which are more varied and intense in case of natural wetlands like Nal Sarovar. Hydrology in this case refers to all water related features such as precipitation, inflow and outflow, evaporation and the resultant factors like depth and duration of water, frequency and duration of flooding, and the amplitude of water-level changes. Therefore, even small changes in the hydrological characteristics of the lake bring about significant changes in the community structure and function. It gives us an immense pleasure in presenting this comprehensive book on “Conserving Sanctity of Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary ‘Ramsar Site’ by Community Participatory Approach”. The Nal Sarovar, a shallow, permanent fresh water lake, that sprawl at the junction of mainland of Central Gujarat and Saurashtra, attracts one of the largest concentrations of migratory and resident waterfowl found in India. Although it is yet to be recognized internationally, the lake has been identified as priority site for intensive conservation and management of National Wetlands, Mangroves, and Coral Reefs Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change, Government of India. This book embodies an in-depth information on Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary in terms of point and non point sources of pollution, nutrient budget and recycling of nutrients in water and bottom sediments, planktons as indicators and markers of pollution, macrophytes as indicators of quality of wetlands, bioaccumulation of heavy metals in aquatic macrophytes, suitability of habitat for waterfowl conservation, impact of various anthropogenic pressures and conservation and site-specific management strategies for sustainable use of biotic resources with suitable recommendations and mitigating measures. We hope this book will be of great help to scientists, teachers, students, wetland conservationists, and managers in this field.

This guide has been prepared by the IUCN Environmental Law Programme and the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD), in cooperation with the World Resources Institute (WRI). The main goal of the guide is to facilitate the understanding of the obligations of Parties to the Protocol, by providing an information base on the content and origin of the Protocol provisions, accessible to the non-specialist and useful for those who will be involved in the development and implementation of national safety frameworks.

Soil is the most important natural non-renewable resource developed over a longer period of time due to weathering of rocks and subsequently enrichment of organic matter. Soil provides habitat for numerous microorganisms and serves as a natural medium for plant growth, thereby providing the plants with anchorage, nutrients and water to sustain the growth. Soil also serves as a universal sink for all types of pollutants, purifies ground water and is a major reserve of carbon in the universe. The role of soils to provide ecosystem services, maintenance of environmental/human health and ensuring the food security makes it as the most important and basic natural resource. Soil Science helps us to elaborate and understand how the soils provide all these services. Soil Science also provides us the basic knowledge dealing with the origin of the soil parent material, weathering of parent material and the formation of soils, morphological, physico-chemical and biological features of soils, classification of soils and role of soils in the provision and maintenance of ecosystem services, food security and environmental quality. This book encompasses the various processes, functions and behaviour of soils very comprehensively to acquaint the students of soil, plant and environmental sciences about their role to perform different agricultural and environmental functions.

In discussion with Ramsar’s Max Finlayson and Nick Davidson, and several members of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Springer is proposing the development of a new Encyclopedia of Wetlands, a comprehensive resource aimed at supporting the trans- and multidisciplinary research and practice which is inherent to this field. Aware both that wetlands research is on the rise and that researchers and students are often working or learning across several disciplines, we are proposing a readily accessible online and print reference which will be the first port of call on key concepts in wetlands science and management. This easy-to-follow reference will allow multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary individuals to look up terms, access further details, read overviews on key issues and navigate to key articles selected by experts.

The Wetland Book is a comprehensive resource aimed at supporting the trans- and multidisciplinary research and practice which is inherent to this field. Aware both that wetlands research is on the rise and that researchers and students are often working or learning across several disciplines, The Wetland Book is a readily accessible online and print reference which will be the first port of call on key concepts in wetlands science and management. This easy-to-follow reference will allow multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary individuals to look up terms, access further details, read overviews on key issues and navigate to key articles selected by experts.

1. Introduction to the Study of Animal Behaviour 2. Concepts of Ethology 3. Methods of Studying Behaviour 4. Mammalian Nervous System and Behaviour 5. Pheromones 86-108 6. Hormones and Behaviour 7. Biological Clocks 8. Orientation 9. Bird Migration and Navigation 10. Fish Migration 11. Social Organization 12. Wildlife 10 India Glossary Supplementary Reading