Ecosystem services include conditions and processes that make up natural ecosystems and the species present therein. According to recent studies, wetland ecosystems provide the maximum service value per area by playing a significant role in regulating and purifying water supplies, controlling flood, acting as carbon-sinks, and sustaining human lives and livelihoods. Challenges like wetland loss and degradation, declining freshwater resources, and probable consequences of climate change have attracted significant scientific and public attention towards wetland conservation and restoration. Despite diligent conservation efforts, the global status of wetland security is still alarming. Long-term sustainable management and use of wetlands necessitate active public participation from all sectors. This study reviews the current status of different wetlands in India. It also provides a detailed discussion of different aspects of economic evaluation of ecosystem services, wetland restoration, and public participation for improving wetland policies and governance.
TopIntroduction
Ecosystem services (ES) is a concept that highlights the magnanimous impact of nature on mankind. Besides referring to the benefits obtained by humans from ecology, ES also implies quality life for mankind in terms of recreation or the cultural and inspirational values of natural wonders which in turn improves cognitive thinking as well as emotional perspectives (West, 2015). The ES categories suggested by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment have been enlisted in Table 1. ES has attracted increasing attention of the scientific community owing to its significance and relevance for practical management of different types of ecosystems (Müller & Burkhard, 2012; Salata et al., 2017). According to previous reports, wetland ecosystems present in different types of agricultural and urban landscapes yield the highest service value per area by playing significant roles in water supply and purification, control of floods and maintenance of people’s livelihoods (Cimon-Morin & Poulin 2018). However, existing studies are yet to meet the increasing demand of data and robust evidence of policy-decision makers, thereby hindering the transformation of research findings to actual management practice (Martinez-Harms et al., 2015; Förster et al., 2015).
Table 1. Categories of ecosystem services.
| ES Categories | Summary Description |
| Provisioning | Physical and other resources extracted from ecosystems to support a diversity of human needs, such as food, fibre and natural medicines |
| Regulating | Regulatory processes within ecosystems maintaining balance, such as pollination, water purification and climate moderation |
| Cultural | Aspects of ecosystems providing non-material benefits enriching society, such as those supporting tourism, recreation and spiritual interests |
| Supporting | Processes within ecosystems that maintain overall functioning and resilience, such as soil formation, photosynthetic production of oxygen and habitat for wildlife |
Reproduced with permission from Everard et al. (2019).
Global wetlands account for an approximate area of 7–10 million km2, which is equivalent to 5–8% of the global land area. 23.2% of the entire global ES value (US$125 trillion yr–1) is yielded by the wetland ecosystems of this world (Costanza et al., 2014; Xu et al., 2018). Wetland research is carried out in terms of hydrology, origin and development, and linkages of the same to society (Pal & Debanshi, 2021). Wetland ES has been categorized as provisioning (e.g., fresh water provision or services include products obtained from ecosystems, such as food, water, timber, fibre, or genetic resources), regulating (e.g., water purification, flood regulation, air quality regulation, climatic regulation, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination, and natural hazard regulation), cultural (include benefits that people obtain from ecosystems related to spiritual enrichment, recreation, ecotourism, aesthetics, formal and informal education, inspiration, and cultural heritage) and supporting (include habitat for wildlife and basic ecosystem processes of nutrient cycling and primary productivity that may, in turn, lead to the other three services listed above) (de Groot et al., 2012; MEA, 2005; William and James, 2015).