Wetland Creation: A Strategy for Mitigating Wetland Loss by Restoring Wetlands to Landscapes

Abstract

Owing to an ever-growing human population and the subsequent need for land development in India and other parts of South Asia, wetlands are bound to get adversely impacted. The outcome of adverse impacts may vary from wetland degradation to wetland loss, and mitigation is an effective strategy in minimizing such damages. One of the proven effective strategies of wetland mitigation is wetland creation that restores wetlands to a landscape that suffered wetland loss. Wetland creation efforts typically lead to construction of “replacement wetlands” (also called “mitigation wetlands”) whose total area in an affected landscape has to be similar to or larger than the original wetland area impacted in that landscape. The replacement wetlands should be constructed mainly for ecological well-being of the landscape. Wetland creation to replace lost wetlands in a landscape may require reestablishing original vegetation, hydrology, or other parameters to restore original or closer to original functions of wetlands. For constructing a replacement wetland, an area having diameter of at least 25 m can be selected as wetland construction site in a flat barren land. In India, such land can be a “forest land” under the jurisdiction of a state forest department. Creation of a replacement wetland may be carried out using manual tools or heavy equipment depending on type of site selected, size of the replacement wetland required, and complexity level of the structure of the replacement wetland. Some experience and knowledge regarding engineering surveys and use of survey instruments might be desirable.