MoEFCC notified eco-sensitive zone of the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

• On the south-western edge of Guwahati, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the eco-sensitive zone of the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary
• The Wildlife sanctuary is facing immense biotic pressure due to human settlements and ever-increasing development activities.
• The water of wetland has become toxic and it has lost many of its aquatic plants that elephants would feed on.

Issues with Deepor Beel:

• City wastes as well as industrial effluents causing serious threat to all life forms and ecosystems in the Deepदr Beel.
• The wetland area is suffering from seepage of toxins from a garbage dump.
• The area is in menace by the railway track which is set to be doubled and electrified on its southern periphery.
• The sewage streams from the city is flown to the Deepor Beel.

Deepor Beel:

• It is located about 10 km Southwest of Guwahati.
• Beel means wetland or large aquatic body in Assamese
• Deepor Beel is a perennial freshwater lake
• It is considered one of the largest and important riverine wetlands in the Brahmaputra Valley
• It is also designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands.
• It is an ‘Important Bird Area’ site as designated by Birdlife International.
• The wetland is also a bird sanctuary covering an area of 414 hectares, sheltering more than 200 species of birds, about 70 of them migratory birds.
• During the summer, a large part of the beel is covered by aquatic vegetation, like water hyacinth, aquatic grasses, water lilies, etc.
• Some endangered species, included in IUCN Red List, are also seen here like Spot-billed Pelican, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Baer’s Pochard, White Bellied Eagle, Greater Adjutant Stork, etc.

Eco-Sensitive Zones:

• Eco-Sensitive Zones are areas within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• It is notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act 1986.
• Purpose: to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
• Prohibited activities: hydroelectric projects, brick kilns, commercial use of firewood and discharge of untreated effluents in natural water bodies or land areas.
• No new commercial hotels and resorts shall be permitted within 1 km of the boundary of the protected area or up to the extent of the eco-sensitive zone, whichever is nearer, except for small temporary structures for eco-tourism activities.