Lakes and Wetlands of India

India's lakes and wetlands are far more varied than a single definition suggests. They include Himalayan glacial lakes, tectonic lakes such as Wular in Jammu and Kashmir, oxbow lakes left behind by shifting rivers, crater lakes such as Lonar in Maharashtra, lagoons such as Chilika in Odisha and Pulicat on the Andhra Pradesh–Tamil Nadu border, and the backwaters of Kerala. Wetlands also include marshes, floodplains, mangroves, coral reefs and man-made reservoirs and tanks. Together they store water, recharge groundwater, support fisheries, moderate floods and provide habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife.

Some lakes are nationally important. Wular is one of the largest freshwater lakes in South Asia and plays a role in flood moderation in the Kashmir valley. Chilika, a brackish lagoon on the east coast, is Asia's largest brackish-water lagoon and a major wintering ground for migratory birds, as well as a livelihood source for fishing communities. Sambhar in Rajasthan is India's largest inland saline lake and a source of salt. Loktak in Manipur is known for its floating phumdis, masses of vegetation on which people live and fish. Each lake has a different water chemistry, ecology and set of human uses, so a single management rule cannot fit all of them.

India is a party to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands, adopted in 1971 and in force internationally from 1975, under which wetlands of international importance are listed as Ramsar sites. Listing brings recognition and a commitment to wise use, but it does not by itself stop pollution, encroachment or over-extraction of water. Many wetlands are under pressure from urban growth, sewage, agricultural runoff, sand mining and the conversion of lake beds for construction. Bengaluru's vanishing lakes and the shrinking of urban wetlands across India are frequently cited examples of this pressure.

For civil studies, lakes and wetlands connect water security, biodiversity, livelihoods and urban planning. They are natural infrastructure: a healthy wetland can store floodwater more cheaply than a new drain, filter pollutants, and support fishing and tourism. Their decline therefore raises costs elsewhere, in flood damage, water treatment and lost livelihoods. Protecting them requires mapping, clear boundaries, pollution control and the participation of the fishing and farming communities who use them daily, not only a legal notification.