What makes wetlands so important, environmentally?
Wetlands are world’s most productive environments with stunning biological diversity. Wetlands stretch from mountains to seas and include a wide variety of habitats from rivers and lakes, lagoons and mangroves to coral reefs. These habitats support a variety of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Many of them are habitats for migratory birds like the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary which is the winter home for Siberian cranes. Some are shrimp farms or fisheries, while others are purely for recreation purposes, valuable in ecotourism. So wetlands are a natural phenomenon? Not really. Not all wetlands are natural. Some are man-made. Fish and shrimp farms, ponds, irrigated land like paddy fields, salt pans and reservoirs are artificial wetlands. How are wetlands useful to mankind? Wetlands like mangroves provide a bulwark between the sea and land and help in stabilizing the shoreline. They help in preventing soil erosion and also in reclaiming land. They are breeding ground for marine
