This book discusses current knowledge and challenges with the ecological management and conservation of wetlands, with a focus on the East Kolkata Wetlands of India. This area is referred to as a Ramsar Site, a designation given to areas with special protection statuses, since it is the largest natural waste recycling system in the world. The site faces many threats to its biodiversity and ecosystem functioning due to anthropogenic activity in the region, and therefore an assessment of the ecosystem services, bio-ecological uniqueness, and issues stemming from climate change and human impacts is needed to develop protection strategies for the future ecological functioning and sustainability of the wetlands. The authors use GIS and remote sensing techniques to assess and monitor harmful industrial and environmental impacts on the wetlands, and to inform mitigation and conservation strategies in the face of ongoing threats such as pollution, habitat destruction and bioinvasion. The book also highlights various social and economic aspects tied to the functioning and management of the wetlands, along with ecological, biological, and physio-chemical considerations. The study will be of use to students and researchers in aquatic ecology, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability and conservation, as well as to environmental planners, engineers, and policymakers.

India has abundant water resources including rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, upland lakes, and floodplain wetlands covering over 5. [Author]8 percent of the country. [Author] These environments harbour a rich fish fauna of 1 035 species that constitutes the basis for the inland fisheries sector, which annually produces 2 144 452 tonnes of fish – if enhanced and culture-based fisheries are included – corresponding to 21 percent of total fish production. [Author] Rivers like the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Barak, alongside floodplain wetlands, play crucial roles, especially in the east and northeast. [Author] Lakes are abundant in upland areas. [Author] Reservoirs cover over 1 percent of India's land and hold untapped potential for fisheries development. [Author] Traditionally, fishing in inland water bodies has been a small-scale or subsistence activity. [Author] Fishing practices, crafts and gear used in inland fisheries are still traditional. [Author] Cooperative societies are present in reservoirs and wetlands giving fishers better bargaining power with traders and better prices for the fish. [Author] Inland fisheries are imperative for poverty alleviation, food security, gender empowerment, cultural services, ecosystem function, and biodiversity, and are important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. [Author] Important threats to inland fisheries include water scarcity, habitat loss, pollution, climate change and invasive species. [Author] However, several major river conservation programmes have been initiated. [Author] The collection of inland fishery catch statistics remains weak and production appears to be significantly under-reported in many states. [Author] A simplified method for defining water bodies and estimating catch is proposed and all States have been advised to follow the same definition for water bodies. [Author]

This book brings together 45 years’ worth of experience-derived information about more than 7,000 micro- and macro- species, which form the unique bio-diversity of the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, as it struggles against the natural and anthropogenic threats. Up to 1770, the estimated area of Sundarbans was around 36,000 km2, but has reduced over time to 25,000 km2, due to reclamation. This loss and the related degradation of habitats has caused historical species extinction and population decline. Whereas biodiversity conservation within and beyond the protected areas has been the watchword since the 1990s (“biodiversity, aesthetic values and integrity”), the initial two hundred years of imperial and post-colonial forest management focused primarily on revenue and production forestry, to the detriment of the ecology of the area. It will be of interest to researchers, in zoology, botany, ecology and conservation, as well as professionals, such as foresters, environmentalists, conservationists, resource managers, planners, government agencies, academic institutions, NGOs and naturalists.

A comprehensive and user-friendly photographic field guide covering more than 1,000 birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and plants The Indian subcontinent is exceptionally rich in wildlife because of its wide variety of habitats and climates, ranging from the ocean to the Himalayas and from the Rajasthan desert to Mawsynram in Meghalaya, one of the wettest places on earth. This diversity supports a huge range of charismatic species, from the iconic Tiger to Clouded Leopards, crocodiles to King Cobras, hornbills to eagles. Covering these animals and many others, as well as trees and flowers, this color photographic field guide describes and illustrates more than 1,000 species from all over India, including the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The guide begins with an overview of India’s climate and geography, its wildlife habitats and how to enjoy them, and threats to wildlife. The main part of the book includes concise species descriptions of 770 birds, 114 mammals, 72 butterflies and other insects, 54 reptiles, and 54 plants, each accompanied by a photograph. The book concludes with a section on wildlife-watching in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, which offer the best chance of seeing many of the species described. Describes and illustrates more than 1,000 species from all across India—including some 770 birds, 114 mammals, 72 butterflies and other insects, 54 reptiles, and 54 plants Features more than 1,000 color photographs Includes a guide to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and the key species to be seen there

Rare Animals of India is a unique book that presents the biological and ecological accounts of the least known animal species of India in one comprehensive volume. The book gives comprehensive ecological accounts supported with data tables on rare and specific animal species of India and discusses the basis for their rarity and their conservation. It includes information about the Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) the endangered Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti), the Bengal Marsh Mongoose, Snow Leopards and many more. Readers are guided through several chapters each detailing a specific kind of animal, some of them being on the list of endangered species. With over 150 color illustrations, this intriguing reference will be of immense interest to zoologists, ecologists, naturalists and conservation biologists as well as general readers across the world interested in studying such rare animals found in the length and breadth of the Indian region.