In News: The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) to periodically monitor the activities of a cruise vessel polluting the Bhoj wetland in Bhopal, MP.
A mid-sized cruise vessel can consume 150 tonnes of fuel each day and dump toxic waste in water
Bhoj Wetland
It is located around Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh
The wetland is also a Ramsar site with international importance.
It has two lakes, Upper lake, also called Bhojtal and Lower Lake or Chhota Talaab.
It provides drinking water to 1.2 million people, Pandey highlighted during the January 10 hearing.
Upper lake hosts 15 varieties of fish and turtles
About 2,500 migratory birds across the world visit the wetland that serves as a breeding and nesting habitat for them.
Bhoj wetland has become a near-natural ecosystem in the 900 years since it was first conceived by a visionary king. Paramara Raja Bhoj (1005-1055 CE), the benefactor-ruler of Malwa, after whom the state capital Bhopal is also named, had the lake built by raising an earthen dam across the Kolans.
The Bhoj wetland is among the most accessible Ramsar site, with a road going all around the twin lakes.
Wetlands
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil.
Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
