* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    ‘Gangs of London’ Producer Explains Season 3 Deaths, Hypes Season 4 – Citizen Tribune

    Gangs of London’ Producer Reveals Shocking Season 3 Deaths and Teases Exciting Season 4

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    $1 Billion Problem: New Technology Could Save Your Daily Cup of Coffee – SciTechDaily

    The $1 Billion Challenge: How New Technology Could Rescue Your Daily Cup of Coffee

    Canada’s construction industry gets serious about investing in technology as pressure mounts to do more with less – Yahoo Finance

    Canada’s Construction Industry Accelerates Tech Investments to Overcome Growing Challenges and Boost Efficiency

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Get the lead out: Putting new at-home lead testing technology to the test | Denver7 Investigates – Denver7

    Putting the Latest At-Home Lead Testing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    ‘Gangs of London’ Producer Explains Season 3 Deaths, Hypes Season 4 – Citizen Tribune

    Gangs of London’ Producer Reveals Shocking Season 3 Deaths and Teases Exciting Season 4

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    $1 Billion Problem: New Technology Could Save Your Daily Cup of Coffee – SciTechDaily

    The $1 Billion Challenge: How New Technology Could Rescue Your Daily Cup of Coffee

    Canada’s construction industry gets serious about investing in technology as pressure mounts to do more with less – Yahoo Finance

    Canada’s Construction Industry Accelerates Tech Investments to Overcome Growing Challenges and Boost Efficiency

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Get the lead out: Putting new at-home lead testing technology to the test | Denver7 Investigates – Denver7

    Putting the Latest At-Home Lead Testing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

The ‘kidneys of Kolkata’: Indian wetlands under threat

July 18, 2023
in Science
The ‘kidneys of Kolkata’: Indian wetlands under threat
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Wetlands outside Kolkata process the city's sewage and are agriculturally important, but experts say they are under threat

Wetlands outside Kolkata process the city’s sewage and are agriculturally important, but experts say they are under threat.

Wetlands just outside India’s Kolkata have for generations provided tons of food daily and thousands of jobs as they filter sewage through fish ponds—but rapid urbanization is threatening the ecosystem.

Conservationists warn that pollution and strong-arm land grabs are putting a lifeline for the megacity’s 14 million residents at risk.

“We are destroying the environment,” said Tapan Kumar Mondal, who has spent his life farming fish in the ingenious system of canals and ponds stretching across about 125 square kilometers (48 square miles).

“The population… has increased, there is a pressure on nature, they are ruining it,” 71-year-old Mondal added.

Listed as a wetland of global importance under the United Nations Ramsar convention, the waters offer natural climate control by cooling sweltering temperatures—and act as valuable flood defenses for low-lying Kolkata.

But Dhruba Das Gupta, from the environmental group SCOPE, said that short-sighted building development was encroaching on the wetlands.

“The wetlands are shrinking,” said the researcher, who is trying to finance a study of what is left of the waters.

‘Ecologically-subsidized city’

Every day, 910 million liters of nutrient-rich sewage flow into the wetland, feeding a network of about 250 hyacinth-covered ponds.

Fish farms take advantage of booming plankton to sustain fast-growing carp and tilapia

Fish farms take advantage of booming plankton to sustain fast-growing carp and tilapia.

“Sunlight and the sewage create a massive plankton boom,” said K. Balamurugan, chief environment officer for West Bengal state, explaining that the microorganisms in the shallow fish ponds feed rapidly growing carp and tilapia.

Once the fish have had their fill, the water runoff irrigates surrounding rice paddies and the remaining organic waste fertilizes vegetable fields.

“The sewage of the city is being naturally treated by the wetlands,” Balamurugan said, giving them the nickname the “kidneys of Kolkata”.

The community-developed system was created by “the world’s foremost connoisseurs of wastewater wise use and conservation”, according to its UN Ramsar listing, which also warns it is under “intense encroachment stress of urban expansion”.

The late ecologist Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, who played a key role in the 2002 Ramsar submission, called Kolkata an “ecologically-subsidized city”.

The wetlands system processes about 60 percent of Kolkata’s sewage free of charge, saving the city over $64 million a year, according to a 2017 University of Calcutta study.

Farms in the wetlands provide about 150 tons of vegetables daily, 10,500 tons of fish annually and employ tens of thousands of people, the Ramsar listing estimates.

For Kolkata, on the vast delta where the Ganges River meets the Indian Ocean, the wetlands also provide flood defenses for a city facing rising sea levels due to climate change.

The wetlands generate about 150 tonnes of vegetables a day for Kolkata

The wetlands generate about 150 tonnes of vegetables a day for Kolkata.

“This city never faced any flooding issue,” Balamurugan added. “These wetlands are acting as a natural sponge, taking the excess rainwater.”

Das Gupta said the biodiversity hotspot also “plays a very important role in stabilizing the climate”, calling the wetlands “the lifeline of Kolkata”.

“The wetlands have to stay, because of the cooling that they achieve by their very presence,” she said.

‘Land is being snatched’

But the Ramsar listing notes that industrial effluent is tainting natural systems, threatening food production.

Fish farmer Sujit Mondal, 41, said that compared to last year “production has reduced” because of “murky water”.

About 95 percent of the wetlands are in private hands.

As land prices surge, environment officials say they have pleaded with people not to fill in the fish ponds to create new building space.

Environmental researcher Dhruba Das Gupta talks with fish farmer Sujit Mondal, who says pollution has hurt production

Environmental researcher Dhruba Das Gupta talks with fish farmer Sujit Mondal, who says pollution has hurt production.

“We asked them not to convert the wetlands, not to trade these wetlands to buildings, not to get them filled,” Balamurugan said.

But residents say village councils are being bribed by land-hungry developers.

“They are often accused by residents of giving informal permission in return for money to real estate developers to build, while they look the other way,” said Das Gupta.

“This leads to huge loss of productive space, and destroys the ecosystem services offered by these wetlands,” she added.

“The land is being snatched from people,” said Sujit Mondal, the fish farmer.

Gangs even net the ponds at night to steal the fish, leaving farmers with little option but to close and sell.

“They pressurize fishermen to give up their livelihoods,” said Das Gupta. “Then they take control of the land.”

© 2023 AFP

Citation:
The ‘kidneys of Kolkata’: Indian wetlands under threat (2023, July 18)
retrieved 18 July 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-kidneys-kolkata-indian-wetlands-threat.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Phys.org – https://phys.org/news/2023-07-kidneys-kolkata-indian-wetlands-threat.html

Tags: 'kidneysKolkata'science
Previous Post

The RNA-binding proteins hnRNP H and F regulate splicing of a MYC-dependent HRAS exon in prostate cancer cells

Next Post

Into the unknown: NASA space laser provides answers to a rainforest canopy mystery

Identifying ecological thresholds from functional traits for optimal ecosystem management – Nature

Unlocking Ecological Thresholds Through Functional Traits for Smarter Ecosystem Management

June 21, 2025
Speed-snap science: Solving for molecular details in a flash – Phys.org

Speed-Snap Science: Unlocking Molecular Secrets in a Flash

June 21, 2025
Fish Suffer Up to 22 Minutes of Intense Pain When Taken Out of Water – ScienceAlert

Fish Suffer Up to 22 Minutes of Intense Pain When Taken Out of Water – ScienceAlert

June 21, 2025
Brief Use of CGM May Enhance Lifestyle Awareness in T2D – Medscape

Brief Use of CGM May Enhance Lifestyle Awareness in T2D – Medscape

June 21, 2025
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Botafogo stuns PSG, 1-0, in tournament’s first major upset – Yahoo Sports

Botafogo Stuns PSG with a Stunning 1-0 Triumph in FIFA Club World Cup 2025’s Biggest Upset

June 21, 2025
Study: Mass Deportations Would Cost California Economy $275 Billion, Decimate Critical Industries – University of California, Merced

Study: Mass Deportations Would Cost California Economy $275 Billion, Decimate Critical Industries – University of California, Merced

June 21, 2025
‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

June 21, 2025
Economics Student Studying Maternal Health Earns National Fellowship – Georgia State University News

Economics Student Studying Maternal Health Earns National Fellowship – Georgia State University News

June 21, 2025
How Tucker Carlson went from war hawk to skeptic – CNN

Tucker Carlson’s Dramatic Shift: From War Hawk to Skeptic

June 21, 2025
Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

June 20, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (695)
  • Economy (709)
  • Entertainment (21,610)
  • General (15,488)
  • Health (9,750)
  • Lifestyle (715)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (712)
  • Politics (716)
  • Science (15,929)
  • Sports (21,205)
  • Technology (15,695)
  • World (689)

Recent News

Identifying ecological thresholds from functional traits for optimal ecosystem management – Nature

Unlocking Ecological Thresholds Through Functional Traits for Smarter Ecosystem Management

June 21, 2025
Speed-snap science: Solving for molecular details in a flash – Phys.org

Speed-Snap Science: Unlocking Molecular Secrets in a Flash

June 21, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version