On World Wetlands Day, BNHS Director Kishor Rithe said wetlands in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region protect the city from high tides and extreme weather while supporting biodiversity. Speaking at an awareness event in Nerul, experts warned about mangrove loss due to urbanisation and urged students to join conservation efforts through community action and environmental advocacy.
Mumbai: On World Wetlands Day, 2 February reminds us that the wetlands in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region act not only as a refuge for birds and animals but also protect the financial capital of the country from extreme weather like high-tidal events, said Kishor Rithe, Director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), while speaking at an awareness event organised by the Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society (NMEPS) at SIES College of Management Studies, Nerul.
Awareness Event
The programme brought together environmental experts, activists, and educators, who spoke to about 200 students on the current conservation challenges facing the city's mangrove forests.
Speaking to the students about the impact of rapid urbanisation on natural ecosystems, NMEPS president V K Gandhi shared updates on the organisation’s ongoing environmental initiatives and encouraged young people to actively participate in conservation efforts.
Youth Engagement
Students were not just passive listeners—they enthusiastically interacted with speakers, asked thoughtful questions, and shared their ideas. Praising their involvement, Gandhi said, “It is heartening to see such enthusiastic participation from young students. Their ideas, questions, and creativity give us hope that the next generation will take environmental preservation forward with passion and responsibility.”
The event also featured student-led activities such as a Hackathon and Aaj Ki Adalat, where participants used creative approaches to address environmental issues. The key highlight of the day was a panel discussion, a presentation on real-world experiences in research, conservation, and activism, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session with students.
Winners of the Best Out of Waste competition (Pillai Institute of Management Studies & Research) and the Hackathon were announced at the end of the programme.
Global Context
The United Nations observes 2 February as World Wetlands Day. The UN defines wetlands as ecosystems in which water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. A broad definition of wetlands includes both freshwater and marine and coastal ecosystems, such as all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fishponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and saltpans.
These lands have environmental, climate, ecological, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational, and aesthetic benefits.
Although they cover only around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just 50 years—since 1970—35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost.
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