Aquat Sci (2013) 75:3961

DOI 10.1007/s00027-011-0247-y

Aquatic Sciences

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WETLANDS

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia,

especially in the face of climate change
Brij Gopal

Received: 28 August 2011 / Accepted: 19 December 2011 / Published online: 19 January 2012
 Springer Basel AG 2012

Abstract Tropical and subtropical Asia differs from

other tropical regions in its monsoonal climate and the
dominant influence of the Hindukush and Himalayan
mountain ranges which result in extremes of spatial and
temporal variability in precipitation. However, several
major rivers and their tributaries arise in the Himalayan
ranges and are fed by thousands of glaciers. Huge sediment
loads carried by these rivers result in important deltas at
their mouths. The climatic and physiographic diversity
have endowed the region with many kinds of wetlands. Of
these, the peatswamps of southeast Asia constitute about
56% of the worlds tropical peatlands, and more than 42%
of the worlds mangroves occur in South and southeast
Asia. Among other wetlands, riverine swamps are rather
restricted whereas the seasonal marshes are a dominant
feature. Another characteristic feature of tropical Asia are
the innumerable human-made and intensively managed
wetlands of which the paddy fields and aquaculture ponds
are the most extensive. Throughout tropical Asia, wetlands
have been a part of the socio-cultural ethos of the people
and many communities have lived in wetlands. However,
the pressures of high population and the economic development have extensively impacted upon wetlands which

have been transformed for paddy cultivation and aquaculture, drained and converted to other land uses for economic
gains (e.g., conversion to oil palm), and degraded by discharge of domestic and industrial wastes. Invasive plant
and animal species have also played a significant role. The
climate change is already being felt in the rapid retreat of
Himalayan glaciers, increased temperature and variability
in precipitation as well as the frequency of extreme events.
Sea level rise is seen as a major threat to the coastal wetlands, particularly the mangroves. Increasing droughts have
caused frequent fires in Indonesian peat swamps that have
further feedback impacts on regional climate. However, the
actual threat to wetlands in this region arises from the
extensive hydrological alterations being caused by storage,
abstraction and diversion of river flows for agriculture,
industry and hydropower. Currently, the state of our
understanding wetlands in general, and the efforts and
infrastructure for research and training in wetlands are very
poor. Although a few wetlands have been designated as
Ramsar sites, the policies aimed at wetland conservation
are either non-existent or very weak. Human responses to
greater uncertainty and variability in the available water
resources in different parts of Asia will be crucial to the
conservation of wetlands in the future.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change

on Wetlands.

Keywords Wetlands  Distribution  Mangroves 

Water resources  Glacier retreat  Sea level rise 
Peat swamps  Fire  Wetland policy  Ramsar sites

B. Gopal
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India

Introduction
Present Address:
B. Gopal (&)
Centre for Inland Waters in South Asia, National Institute
of Ecology, 41 B Shiv Shakti Nagar, Jaipur 302017, India
e-mail: brij44@gmail.com

I begin this contribution with two caveats. First, the term

wetland has been in use for more than six decades but there
remains a lot of confusion about what is or is not a wetland

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(see Maltby 2009 for a discussion on the problem of definitions). The Ramsar Convention which has promoted the
wise use and conservation, including restoration of wetlands, considers all inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems
as wetlands. For the purpose of this presentation, I restrict
the scope to inland wetlands but do not include the deep
water lakes, large reservoirs and river channels among
wetlands. Also excluded are the caves and similar subterranean wetlands.
Second, all kinds of wetlands and their future have been
discussed in detail time and again (Adam 2002; Alongi
2002; Brinson and Malvarez 2002; Duarte 2002; Junk
2002; Moore 2002; Tockner and Stanford 2002; Williams
2002). The International Conference on Environmental
Future of Aquatic Ecosystems examined the issues concerning the present and future of wetlands from different
biogeographical, socio-economic and other perspectives
and in light of the experiences gained in different continents (see Brinson et al. 2008; Dodd and Ong 2008;
Malmer et al. 2008). Lucid references have been made to
adverse changes that were occurring as a consequence of
the many anthropogenic pressures but despite our increased
understanding of the functions and values (or goods and
services) of these ecosystems (see MEA 2005), little seems
to have been learned to protect them for the future. These
ecosystems continue to bear the brunt of developmental
activities around the word.
Tropical wetlands, like other tropical ecosystems, have
also received considerable global attention and much has
been discussed at many meetings and in several publications (e.g., Parikh and Datye 2003; Junk et al. 2006; Lukacs
2010). Only recently the tropical wetlands were discussed
by Gopal et al. (2008) who took a broader view by elaborately covering the social, cultural, economic, political
and other variables that influence them. Tropical floodplains were discussed also by Tockner et al. (2008). In the
following pages, therefore, I emphasise the anticipated
impacts of climate change vis-a-vis other anthropogenic
stressors on various kinds of wetlands in tropical and
subtropical Asia in light of the distinctive physical, social
and economic characteristics of the region.

B. Gopal

known as South West Asia (including the so-called Middle

East), South Asia and South East Asia.
Geology and geomorphology
Tropical Asia exhibits extremes of geological and topographic diversity. Geologically, it consists of the
Precambrian land-masses (the Arabian and Indian peninsula) as well as areas of very recent origin. Topographically,
within tropical Asia lie the worlds highest peak, Mount
Everest (8,850 m above sea level) in the Himalaya, and the
lowest point, the Dead Sea (394 m below sea level) in Israel.
The present geomorphological features of tropical and
subtropical Asia were shaped by the geological events of the
past 50 million years. The thrust of the Indian plate, drifting
northeast, under the Asian plate resulted in the rise of
Himalayan ranges and the Tibetan Plateau. The subsequent
epeirogenic processes (large scale upliftment and subsidence of land) and volcanic and fluvial activities resulted in
the highly complex pattern of landforms. The vast zone of
high plateaus, rising to more than 4,500 m in the north, and
the surrounding high mountain ranges exert a dominant
influence on the climate and biodiversity of the tropical
Asia. Mountain ranges radiate from the Pamir plateau (also
called the Pamir Knot) towards both west and east. Westwards, the Hindukush and Suleiman ranges enclose the high
plateaus of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Iran. Eastwards,
the Himalayan mountain ranges, the youngest of all, turn
sharply in a large arc across north India (and thus girdling
the Tibetan Plateau), before turning southwards to continue
as Arakan Yoma through Myanmar, and further south in
AndamanNicobar islands and into Sumatra and Java
Islands. Southeast Asia is intersected by a series of relatively
low ranges running in the northsouth direction. The Indian
peninsula itself is formed by the Deccan Plateau, which is
rimmed by the Vindhyan and Satpura ranges in the north and
on the west and the east by a series of low mountain ranges
(the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats) that coalesce in the
south. Most western parts of tropical Asia have a low relief
except for the low rise mountains along the Red Sea coast
and in the south east of the Arabian peninsula.
Climate

Tropical and subtropical Asia

As pointed out by Gopal et al. (2008), the terms tropical
and subtropical are not well defined geographical concepts. In keeping with the common practice, tropics refer to
the areas bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic
of Capricorn. The subtropics include areas extending to
35N and 35S. Within Asia, only parts of Indonesia and
Papua-New Guinea lie south of Equator. The tropical and
subtropical Asia in general covers the regions popularly

123

The climate of the region is governed by the monsoon

winds and influenced by the high mountain ranges (Fein
and Stephens 1987). After the temperatures start soaring
during the summer (April onwards), the southwest monsoon brings large amounts of precipitation over the South
and Southeast Asia. The large mountain ranges influence
the spatial distribution of rainfall, resulting in sharp gradients with precipitation decreasing from over 4,000 mm in
the east to less than 200 mm in the west of South Asia

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

41

Fig. 1 Precipitation regime in monsoonal tropical Asia. Note the high spatial variability (redrawn and modified from Robinson 1976)

(Fig. 1). During winter, the northeast monsoon moves into

East Asia and also brings some precipitation in South Asia.
While most of Southwest Asia is semi-arid (annual precipitation 200500 mm) and arid (\200 mm), or even
hyper-arid (\25 mm). Many parts of south Asia (India and
Sri Lanka) are also semi-arid.
The temperature regimes are influenced by latitude and
altitude. Winters are moderately cool with temperatures
rarely dropping below the freezing point in the plains.
However, at higher altitudes, the sub-freezing temperature
extends over several months.
The monsoonal climate of tropical and subtropical Asia
is characterised by large inter-annual variability that results
frequently in extreme events of high or low precipitation
(Mooley and Parthasarathy 1984). The monsoons are
influenced by a large number of factors that include several
atmospheric processes and weather phenomena in the
Indian and Pacific Oceans, and hence, are quite unpredictable (see Das 1995; Gopal and Chauhan 2001).
Water resources
The Himalaya and the monsoons play the dominant role in
determining the nature and extent of water resources in
tropical Asia. Some of the worlds largest river systems lie
here and owe their perennial flow largely to the Himalaya.

In fact, most of wetland systems of tropical south and

southeast Asia depend upon the water that is carried by
these rivers originating behind the Himalaya. The
2,800 km long River Indus and 2,900 km long River
Brahmaputa arise near Mansarovar in the trans-Himalayan
region in Tibet and flow westwards and eastwards,
respectively, before turning south and discharging into the
Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, respectively. All major
rivers of Southeast Asia also rise from the Tibetan Plateau
along the eastern Himalaya: rivers Irrawady and Salween
flow southwards through Myanmar while Mekong flows
south through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and
River Yangtze (also known as Chang Jiang) flows eastwards through China. River Ganga and many of its major
tributaries originate from the glaciers on the southern face
of Himalaya in India and Nepal. The Ganga river system
covers approximately 40% of Indias land surface and
forms extensive floodplains. The River Ganga joins River
Brahmaputra in Bangladesh before forming the worlds
largest delta. The peninsular India has numerous rivers
which arise from the Western Ghats and the mountain
ranges of central India. Major rivers from the Western
Ghats such as Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery
flow eastwards. Many small rivers flow west along the
steep slopes into the Arabian Sea. River Narmada arises in
the eastern Satpura ranges and flows westwards through the

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narrow rift valleys between Satpura and Vindhyan ranges

before discharging into the Gulf of Khambat. Rivers Tapi
(also called Tapti), which runs nearly parallel to river
Narmada, and river Mahi also flow westwards. Several
rivers arising in central Indian hill ranges flow northwards
to join Rivers Yamuna and Ganga. All peninsular rivers are
rainfed but are generally perennial as they receive runoff
during the periods of both southwest and southeast
monsoons.
In Sri Lanka, there are more than 100 small seasonal
streams which flow in a radial pattern from the central
highland (Costa and deSilva 1995). Similarly, there are
numerous, sometimes perennial, streams, throughout other
parts of Southeast Asia such as Philippines, Malaysia (Ho
1995), Indonesia (Lehmusluoto et al. 1999) and Papua New
Guinea (Osborne 1995). Several rivers arise from the
mountains outside the subtropical zone but flow for most
part of their course through the arid to semi-arid parts of
Asia; for example, River Indus flows through semi-arid
Pakistan (Nazneen 1995), Rivers Tigris and Euphrates
drain most of Iraq, and the river Jordan flows through Israel
(Rzoska et al. 1980).
The rivers of tropical Asia are characterised by their
heavy sediment load derived from the erosion in the young
Himalayan mountain ranges. These Asian rivers contribute
more than two-thirds of the worlds total sediment transport to the oceans (Milliman and Meade 1983; Chen et al.
2001; Wasson 2003). In general, these rivers meander
through areas with a very low gradient, and hence, form
vast floodplains, frequently shift their course, and develop
extensive deltas on their mouths. Natural lakes are highly
varied (see Gopal and Ghosh 2009). Most common are the
fluvial (floodplain) lakes. Throughout the Himalaya, there
are many tectonic lakes and numerous glacial lakes at
elevations exceeding 6,000 m. There are very few lakes in
the Southwest arid and semi-arid Asia while the volcanic
lakes occur throughout Indonesia (Lehmusluoto et al.
1999).
However, a characteristic feature of tropical Asia, particularly South Asia are the innumerable man-made water
bodies of all dimensions from less than 0.1 ha to several
thousand hectares. These water bodies had been constructed over millennia in response to the uncertain and
seasonal precipitation to meet domestic and irrigation
requirements. A striking example of this is in Sri Lanka
where more than 10,000 tanks occur within the island
(Fernando 1984).

Wetlands and their distribution

Diverse hydrological regimes which are obtained under the
extremes of spatio-temporal variability of precipitation,

123

B. Gopal

and the specific geomorphic features of tropical Asia have

ensured a large diversity of inland wetlandsfrom seasonal marshes to permanently flooded swamps (riverine
swamps, mangroves) and peatlands. The typology and
distribution of these wetlands along with their biophysical
features have been described in several publications (Scott
1989; Gopal and Krishnamurthy 1992; Khondker 1995;
Feller and Sitnik 1996; Lang et al. 1998; Iwakuma et al.
2000; Wong 2004; An et al. 2007; Kosygin 2009). The allinclusive definition of wetlands adopted by the Ramsar
Convention that covers practically all inland and coastal
aquatic ecosystems has created enormous difficulties in
delineating the wetlands in different countries of the
region. If one were to follow the Ramsar definition, one
would count the thousands of large reservoirs and the large
network of rivers and their tributaries among the wetlands.
Also, there are thousands of glacial lakes at high altitudes
and more than 75% of the worlds paddy fields lie within
tropical Asia. An estimate of the area of different kinds of
wetlands within tropical Asia is still more elusive because
of the additional limitations imposed by the hydrological
variability. Many wetlands expand several-fold during the
flooding season and may just disappear in dry years. For
example, the lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia shrinks and
expands dramatically from 2,500 km2 to 15,000 km2 as it
gets flooded by the Mekong (Campbell et al. 2006), and the
Lake Dongting in China expands from 2,820 to 20,000 km2
during annual floods from the river Yangtse (http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongting_Lake).
Since the publication of the first Asian Wetlands
Directory (Scott 1989), many national and regional
inventories have been published. Some of the recent
inventories are: India (Garg et al. 1998; Vijayan et al. 2004;
SAC 2011), Nepal (Bhandari 1998), China (Lu 1990; Lang
et al. 1998), Myanmar (Davies et al. 2004), Lao PDR
(Claridge 1996), Thailand (OEPP 1999), Indonesia (Silvius
et al. 1987) and Philippines (Baconguis et al. 1990;
Primavera et al. 2004). These inventories of wetlands follow different approaches to identifying and classifying
wetlands (e.g., Zhao and He 2005), though most of them
tend to support the Ramsar definition and classification
(Tables 1, 2 and 3). However, all these inventories are
based on an enumeration of a few important wetlands. One
such Indian effort attempted to identify only the potential
Ramsar sites (Islam and Rahmani 2008). It is extremely
difficult to estimate from these inventories the actual extent
of wetlands in different countries. Data presented by
Watkins and Parish (1999) based on these inventories show
that Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia and Vietnam have very
high proportion of their land area under wetlands (Table 1).
Yet, the estimates for the lower Mekong basin are highly
variable and apparently much lower than the actual area.
In recent years, remote sensing is being applied for the

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change
Table 1 Area and number of
sites included in inventories of
important wetlands in the Asian
region (adapted from Watkins
and Parish 1999)

Country

Number

Area (km2)

Bangladesh

12

85

Brunei

1,380

Cambodia

36,500

China

217

183,850

India

170

Indonesia

256

217,520

30

4,343

116

69,426

Total of 14 countries, from

Frazier and Stevenson (1999)

147,570
38,816
5,765
181,035

Wetland
area (%)
45.87
0.2
23.94
20.16

9,326,410

1.75

54,700 (152,606)a

3,287,263

1.66 (4.64)

137

87,800

1,919,440

4.57

85

4,750

377,944

1.26

2,220

236,800

0.94

37

31,200

329,847

9.46

Myanmar
Nepal

18
17

54,900
356

657,740
147,181

8.35
0.24

Pakistan

48

8,580

796,095

1.08

63

12,903

299,764

4.30

694

0.32
4.18

Philippines

148

198

Total land
area (km2)

163,203

Malaysia

67,700

Laos

Latest estimate based on

remote sensing survey (SAC
2011) is noted in parenthesis

Area (km2)

Bhutan

93

Japan

Number

43

14,016

Singapore

Sri Lanka

41

2,740

65,610

Thailand

42

25,100

511,770

4.90

Vietnam

25

58,100

331,698

17.52

74,348

5,874,168

Middle East countriesb

improved assessment of wetland resources. In India, for

example, a nation-wide assessment of wetlands has been
made based on remote sensing by satellite imageries. It has
significantly enhanced the estimates of wetland area which
stands now at 4.64% of the total land area (SAC 2011;
Table 2). Interannual variations in precipitation and
flooding further complicate the true estimation of wetlands.
Besides the area and numbers, the inventories often
provide variable information on a few important biota
(mostly birds and fish), catchment vegetation, land tenure
and human impacts. The importance of ecological and
management-oriented information in the inventory has
been discussed in several publications (e.g., Finlayson et al.
1999), and adequate guidance on inventory preparation has
also been published (e.g., Finlayson et al. 2002; Ramsar
2011). However, basic ecological information on geomorphic setting, soil characteristics, water regimes, water
quality, and biological features is rarely included.
Mangroves and salt marshes
Tropical Asia has the largest and most species-rich concentration of mangroves distributed all along the coastlines
of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand, and inhabit the deltas of practically all rivers (Fig. 2;
Spalding et al. 1997; Giri et al. 2008, 2010). Asian mangroves account for about 42% of the worlds total (Giri
et al. 2010), though the global and regional estimates differ
greatly (Table 4; Spalding et al. 1997; Valiela et al. 2001;

2.2

1.27

Giri et al. 2010). Indonesia alone has 22% of the worlds

mangroves, the Sundarban mangroves in India and Bangladesh form the single largest mangrove complex
covering approximately 10,000 ha in the delta of Ganga
and Brahmaputra (Gopal and Chahan 2006; Giri et al.
2007). Indo-Malayan mangroves are also the richest in
species composition (Ellison et al. 1999). Mangroves and
salt marshes were once extensively distributed along the
coast of China. Now, there are only 59,000 ha of salt
marshes and 21,000 ha of mangroves distributed between
18N (Southern Hainan Island) and 41N (Yang and Chen
1995; Zhang et al. 2004; Wang and Wang 2007; Chen et al.
2009).
Peat swamps
Unlike the temperate regions, typical bogs and fens do not
occur in tropical and subtropical Asia, though peat is
formed by mosses and sedges at high altitudes in the
Himalayan ranges. However, there are extensive areas of
peatswamp forests, usually dominated by dipterocarps,
throughout southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and
Malaysia (Table 5; RePPProT 1990; Iwakuma et al. 2000;
Jusoff et al. 2007). It appears that some parts of the mangrove forests such as those in India, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka are also often included among peatlands (e.g., Rieley
et al. 1996). Page et al. (2011) estimate that the peatlands in
southeast Asia account for 56% (247,778 km2) by area and
77% (1,359 Gm3) by volume of the worlds tropical peat.

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Table 2 Number and area (ha)
of wetlands in India (from SAC
2011)

B. Gopal

Wetland category

Number of
wetlands

Total wetland
area

Wetland
area (%)

Open water

Inland wetlandsnatural
Lake/pond

11,740

729,532

4.78

454,416

Ox-bow lake/cut-off meander

4,673

104,124

0.68

57,576

High altitude wetland

2,707

124,253

0.81

116,615

Riverine wetland

2,834

91,682

0.60

48,918

Waterlogged

11,957

315,091

2.06

River/stream

11,747

5,258,385

34.46

197,003
3,226,238

Inland wetlandsman-made
Reservoir/barrage

14,894

2,481,987

16.26

122,370

1,310,443

8.59

916,020

5,488
60

135,704
13,698

0.89
0.09

85,715
5,293

188,470

10,564,899

69.23

Lagoon

178

246,044

1.61

Creek

586

206,698

1.35

199,743

Sand/beach

1,353

63,033

0.41

Intertidal mud flat

2,931

2,413,642

15.82

Tank/pond
Waterlogged
Salt pan
Total inland wetlands

2,260,574

7,368,368

Coastal wetlandsnatural
208,915

516,636

Salt marsh

744

161,144

1.06

5,369

Mangrove

3,806

471,407

3.09

Coral reef

606

142,003

0.93

Coastal wetlandsman-made
Salt pan
Aquaculture pond
Total coastal wetlands
Wetlands (\2.25 ha)
Total

Riverine swamps
Riverine swamps (floodplain forests) occur along perennial
rivers in south and Southeast Asia, though their extent is
rather small. These swamps (or flooded woodlands) are
widely scattered in the foothills (Terai region) of Himalaya
in north and northeast India and along Western Ghats in
southern India. Species of Myristica are common in the
south whereas in the north Syzygium, Alstonia, Bischofia
and Barringtonia are common (Gopal and Krishnamurthy
1992). Riverine swamps, dominated mainly by Melaleuca,
are more extensive in the lower Mekong Basin, particularly
around Lake Tonle Sap (e.g., Vidal 1997; Torell and Salamanca 2003; Campbell et al. 2006; Theilade et al. 2011).
Other inland wetlands (marshes)
The most widespread wetland types are freshwater marshes
in riverine floodplains or lake littorals or as shallow lakes
(e.g. Furtado and Mori 1982; Gopal and Krishnamurthy
1992). In southwest Asia, the Mesopotamian marshes in the

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609

148,913

0.98

105,253

2,220

287,232

1.88

196,514

13,033

4,140,116

27.13

1,232,430

555,557
757,060

555,557
15,260,572

3.64
100.00

8,600,798

lower basin of TigrisEuphrates are the most extensive and

important wetlands (Alwash et al. 2004; Gonella et al. 2004;
Stevens 2007). Vast majority of them are seasonal. The
dominant plant taxa in these marshes are mostly emergent
reeds (Phragmites karka), cattails (Typha species) and
sedges (species of Cyperus, Scirpus and Lepironia). A few
salt lakes in the arid regions are typical palustrine marshes.
Coastal lagoons and backwaters (mostly with variable
salinity gradients) are quite common in South and Southeast
Asia (Gopal and Krishnamurthy 1992). True salt marshes
such as those dominated by Spartina species are known
only from southeast China. Finlayson et al. (1999) estimated the area under tidal flat at 290,743 ha. The overall
extent of inland marshes is not correctly estimated because
most of them exhibit large water level changes seasonally
and often dry up completely during the dry season.
Human-made wetlands
As mentioned earlier, man-made wetlands are a characteristic and dominant feature of tropical Asia, although it is

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change
Table 3 Types and extent (ha)
of wetlands in the Lower
Mekong Basin excluding
Cambodia (from Dubois 2000)

45

Wetland type

Lao PDR

Thailand

Vietnam

Pool in perennial river

2,886

Floodplain grassland

7,254

Floodplain wet rice

770,051

770,593

2,123,330

Total
2,886
7,254
3,663,974

Floodplain trees and shrubs

59,358

55,774

115,132

Permanent freshwater lake

12,934

18,522

31,456

Permanent reservoir

83,376

32,026

115,402

Permanent flooded grassland

541

541

Permanent freshwater swamp trees

27,209

27,209

Seasonally flooded grassland

1,404

400,260

401,664

Seasonal freshwater swamp trees

20

122,790

122,810

Perennial river rapid

81,794

Riverine banks beaches bars

1,909

81,794
1,909

Seasonal marsh/backswamp

14,892

14,892

Seasonal lake

9,651

Marine sub-tidal
Intertidal estuarine cliff

1,040,660
18,530

Intertidal estuarine saltworks

3,290

Intertidal estuarine aquaculture

126,220

9,651
1,040,660
18,530
3,290
126,220

Estuarine mangrove swamp

123,670

123,670

Perennial river

134,420

134,420

Total

965,133

985,153

4,093,170

6,043,456

Fig. 2 Distribution of peatswamp forests in Malaysia and Indonesia (from Hooijer et al. 2006)

often difficult to differentiate between the natural, human

transformed and human-made wetlands. A recent report
estimates in India 6.62 Mha of natural wetlands against
only 3.94 Mha of man-made inland wetlands (Table 2;
SAC 2011). Thousands of earthen tanks were constructed,
throughout peninsular India and Sri Lanka (Fig. 3), primarily to store surface runoff for irrigation and domestic
needs during the dry season. For example, the Hyderabad
Urban Development Area alone has 169 water bodies larger
than 10 ha in area. Every village has some small or large

ponds/tanks in other parts of Asia. Almost all of these have

got variously silted up and turned into lacustrine marshes.
Many of them now support significant components of biodiversity including many migratory and threatened
waterfowl species. Paddy fields throughout Asia, which
have largely been developed out of former natural marshes
or even swamps (including mangroves), extend over more
than 133.6 Mha. It is noteworthy that Keoladeo National
Park at Bharatpur (India), which is a Ramsar site and is
known for its very high avian biodiversity, had been carved

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B. Gopal

Table 4 Best estimates of mangrove extent for the Asian region

(from Spalding et al. 1997)
Country
Bangladesh

Spalding et al.
(1997)

Valiela et al.
(2001)

576,700

576,700

Brunei

17,100

17,100

Cambodia
China

85,100
36,880

17,800

670,000

356,500

India
Indonesia
Japan

Giri et al.
(2010)
436,570

368,276

4,255,000

3,112,989

750

Malaysia

642,400

642,400

505,386

Myanmar

378,600

378,600

494,584

Pakistan

168,300

168,300

Philippines

160,700

132,500

Singapore
Sri Lanka

600

263,137

6,200

8,900

Thailand

264,100

168,700

Vietnam

252,500

152,000

Papua-New Guinea

480,121

For sources of information, see Spalding et al. (1997)

Table 5 Estimates of the extent of peat swamps (from Rieley et al.

1996)
Country

Area (km2)

Bangladesh

600

Brunei

100

China

10,00030,000

India

320

Indonesia

170,000270,000

Malaysia

22,50027,300

Philippines

1,0402,400

SriLanka

30

Thailand

680

Vietnam

1,830

Fig. 3 Distribution of human-made water bodies in Sri Lanka

(redrawn from Fernando 1984)

and vegetables, and provision of habitat for significant

biodiversity, besides supporting livelihoods (Ghosh and Sen
1987; Ghosh 2005). The second is the Putrajaya Wetlands
in Malaysia that were constructed during 199798 over an
area of 200 ha primarily to treat stormwater and wastewaters from the new capital township, Putrajaya (Shutes
2001). The largest constructed freshwater wetlands in the
tropics, they are now host to a good number of migratory
birds and other wildlife.

Human use and impacts

out of the floodplains of two seasonal rivers only about a
century ago (Chauhan and Gopal 2001). Many natural
wetlands have been transformed into intensively managed
fish and aquaculture ponds.
Here it is necessary to mention two interesting examples
of human-made wetlands. First, is that of East Kolkata
wetlands which comprise of a series of sewage-fed fish
ponds and associated garbage dumps and agricultural fields,
covering a total area of 12,500 ha. These wetlands, transformed from the earlier Bidyadhari and Kulti rivers by the
ever-increasing discharge of domestic sewage and garbage
since in early 1930s, are now a Ramsar site and touted for
their waste assimilation function, high production of fish

123

Tropical Asia has been an important theatre of human

evolution. Today, it is home to more than one-third of the
worlds human population. The region has also the longest
history of human interaction with their natural environment, especially the wetlands. Humans extensively used,
impacted and transformed the natural wetlands. Wetlands
and wetland biota have been an integral part of the social
and cultural ethos of the people throughout this region, and
many are considered sacred. Wetlands are well known to
have been the fountainhead of rise of early human civilisations in the valleys of TigrisEuphrates and Indus where
floodplains were used for the beginning of agriculture.
The vast floodplains of Ganga and Yamuna were the

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

cornerstone of an agrarian economy, and rice had its origin

in the region. The wetlands of tropical and subtropical Asia
sustain the enormous fin and shrimp fisheries together with
a large variety of other aquatic organisms, both plants and
animals, which are extensively used for food in south and
southeast Asia. Wetlands provide a variety of other
resourcesparticularly fuel, fodder and fibre. The mangroves had until recently been exploited extensively for
timber (see Williams 1990). Natural wetlands were also
extensively transformed into less complex systems such as
paddy fields, fish ponds and aquaculture systems for
increased yields.
Besides providing valuable resources, the wetlands are
important centres of social, cultural and recreational
activity. What is more important in the context of tropical
and subtropical Asia is the existence of large number of
local people who live in and around wetlands and are
nearly totally dependent upon wetlands and wetland
resources for their living and livelihoods (see Ranga 2006;
Friend 2007; Blake et al. 2004; Chong 2005).
Human impacts
Human impacts are influenced in their nature and intensity
by the social, cultural, economic and political characteristics of different societies. Throughout tropical Asia, the
close dependence of the human communities on the wetland systems also meant that human impacts were rather
gradual as the socio-cultural systems helped maintain (and
even enhanced) the natural functions and diversity of
wetlands. Pressures from the government-controlled
development projects were too little. While many natural
wetland areas were certainly lost during the past several
thousand years of human occupation, the concern, care and
need for water and wetland resources kept the impacts to a
minimum, and at the same time new wetland habitats were
created particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions.
Examples of extensive manipulation of wetlands and
maintaining them for their benefits are seen in the floating
islands in many parts of tropical Asia (Van Duzer 2004;
Gopal et al. 2003). Throughout of south and west Asia
extensive water harvesting structures were created to meet
the water requirements.
Human impacts have varied in different countries
depending upon the needs and the policies of the rulers.
Many large schemes of water diversion for irrigation were
undertaken in South Asia many centuries ago; for example,
the Grand Anicut (earlier known as Kallana dam) was
constructed on River Kaveri by the Chola King in first
century A.D. From the early nineteenth century, most of
the tropical Asia came under the colonial regimes of different European countries. A surge of developmental
activity followed the industrial development in Europe as

47

the colonial rulers propagated the idea of wetlands as

wastelands and harbours for diseases. Extensive irrigation
schemes were implemented by diverting the water from
Rivers Ganga and Yamuna for irrigation, soon after the
rivers reached the plains, in the early 1850s. The mangroves were exploited for their timber, and the cleared land
was promoted for paddy cultivation (see Williams 1990).
River embankments were created to facilitate navigation.
The collapse of the colonial regimes in the middle of the
twentieth century was followed by a fresh wave of industrial and urban development. The demands for agriculture
and industry as well as urban centres increased manifold
with changing norms for sanitation. Technological advances cause serious impact on water bodies as the projects are
becoming larger and larger, and domestic sewage and
industrial effluents are directly discharged into the streams
and lakes. Village tanks have been rendered useless,
resulting in their total neglect. Floodplains are encroached
upon with landfill and marshes are increasingly reclaimed.
During the past 5060 years, all countries of tropical
Asia have witnessed nearly similar strategies for economic
development, often with the international assistance and
financial support. This has resulted in large scale deforestation, drainage and reclamation of wetlands (including
peatswamps), and their conversion to agricultural, fishery
or other land uses (Yule 2010). Intentional introduction of
an exotic, the oil palm, has also caused extensive loss of
natural peat swamps in southeast Asia (Andriesse 1988).
All other anthropogenic activities in the catchments,
including urbanisation, are severely degrading both inland
and coastal wetlands (see Zhao et al. 2006; Lee et al. 2006).
In the absence of any reliable time-series data on wetland
area, it is difficult to estimate the rate of loss. However, a
few reports are indicative of the extent of these losses. In
China, different kinds of wetlands have declined by 15
to [50% over the past 50 years (An et al. 2007; Table 6).
Similarly, 20 to 60% of mangroves were lost in various
Asian countries within a decade or two (Valiela et al. 2001;
Table 7). Based on the limited remote sensing data available for comparison, Vijayan et al. (2004) have estimated a
38% decrease in wetlands across India.
Table 6 The losses of the natural wetlands and the associated ecosystem services in China over the last 50 years (from An et al. 2007)
Wetland type

Area in
1,950
(103 km2)

Area in
2,000
(103 km2)

Area loss
(103 km2)

Area
loss (%)

Freshwater swamps

178

137

41

23.0

Lakes

143

120

23

16.1

Rivers

95

82

13

15.3

Coastal wetlands

43

21

22

51.2

459

360

99

21.6

Total

123

48

B. Gopal

Table 7 The losses of mangroves in various Asian countries over

different periods (adapted from Valiela et al. 2001)
Year
Brunei Darussalam

Area (km2)

Year

Area (km2)

1983

70

1997

171

Bangladesh

1980

6,400

1997

5,767

China and Taiwan

1980

670

1995

178

India

1963

6,820

1992

3,565

Malaysia

1980

7,300

1990

6,424

Myanmar

1965

5,171

1994

3,786

Pakistan
Philippines

1983
1920

2,495
4,500

1997
1990

1,683
1,325

Singapore

1983

18

1990

62

Thailand

1961

3,724

1993

1,687

Vietnam

1945

4,000

1995

1,520

Yemen

1980

40

1997

81

Economics and trade

Economic factors have played an important role. Most of
the countries in tropical Asia are economically still poor.
The intensity of human impacts on natural systems,
including wetlands, is directly related to the developmental
pressures which are greater in areas of lower economic
status of the people. However, it must be stressed that such
impacts are most often related to the livelihood strategies
and consumption patterns of different communities, and are
driven by local and global demands (Gopal 2005). Much of
the large-scale degradation in less developed countries
occurs in response to the demands of people in developed
regions or countries and the small-scale degradation usually reflects the livelihood needs of the local people. Most
of shrimp farming in southeast Asia by converting the
mangroves occurs to meet the growing demands in Europe.
In the Philippines, the mangroves declined from half a
million hectares at the turn of the twentieth century to only
120,000 ha by conversion to fish/shrimp culture ponds
which increased to 232,000 ha (Primavera 1995, 2000,
2005). Expansion of shrimp cultivation and salt pans decimated the large Chokoria Sundarbans in the delta of the
Matamuhury River (Bangladesh) to a small patch of few
individuals of Heritiera fomes (Biswas and Choudhury
2007). Similarly, intensive aquaculture in fish tanks constructed in the natural shallow lake Kolleru on the eastern
seacoast of India flourished because of a ready market in
West Bengal. Conversion of peatswamps of Malaysia and
Indonesia to oil palm plantations was also driven by the
export market (Schrevel 2008; Germer and Sauerborn
2008). It should also be pointed out that the economic
returns flowing to less developed countries do not fully,
even partly, compensate the environmental degradation and
its associated social costs.

123

Invasive species
Trade and economic gradients are also linked to the introduction of invasive and non-invasive exotic species. For
example, introduction of exotic carps has significantly
increased fish yields, though their impacts on natural fisheries are not clear. Several studies have reported a decline in
native fisheries after the introduction of tilapias (De Silva
et al. 2004; Khan and Panikkar 2009), whereas others have
not observed any significant change (e.g., Arthur et al. 2010
in Lao PDR). Other exotics in India such as Silver carp
(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and common carp (Cyprinus
carpio var specularis) have affected the indigenous
Schizothorax species (Biju Kumar 2000). More recently,
Clarias gariepinus was introduced into the Keoladeo
National Park, Bharatpur, affecting the native fishes which
were fed upon by the waterfowl. Among plants, water
hyacinth, Mimosa pigra, Ipomoea fistulosa and Salvinia
molesta are widespread and are known to cause extensive
damage and loss of freshwater wetlands throughout the
Asian tropics (see Gopal 1987; Mitchell and Gopal 1990).
Invasive species are now affecting even the mangroves,
though the impacts are yet controllable (Biswas et al. 2007).

Actual threats to wetlands

It is common to view the threats to wetlands from a terrestrial perspective and consider over-exploitation of
natural resources (vegetation, fish and other fauna) and
direct habitat modifications (such as landfills, conversion
and reclamation) as the most important threats. Pollution is
yet another major factor (see also Foote et al. 1996). Climate change which is mostly a consequence of human
interventions through the excessive use of fossil fuels and
land use changes, is emerging as another threat. This will
be discussed in some detail later.
The actual threats to wetlands, however, occur from the
direct and indirect alterations of the hydrological regimes.
Diversion of surface water flows, abstraction of both surface
and ground water, drainage and the wastewater discharge
alter the hydrological regimes directly, whereas land use
changes throughout the catchments of the wetlands affect
them indirectly, most often by reducing or totally eliminating inflows. Large dams and hydropower projects, including
the so-called run-of-the-river projects, create huge storages
and divert all available water leaving long stretches of
downstream rivers completely dry. The floodplains are thus
nearly totally lost due to change in flooding regime and the
accompanying human encroachments. Such water diversion
and large engineering projects have been responsible over
the past three decades in the demise of Mesopotamian
marshes which declined in area from 8,000 km2 in 1966 to

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

only 750 km2 in 2002 (Jones et al. 2008) and experienced an

increase in salinity (Rahi and Halihan 2010). Hydrological
alterations invariably precede the conversion of wetlands.
Water abstraction and reclamation for agriculture caused a
rapid shrinking of the Lake Dongting in China from
4,955 km2 in the 1930s to 2,518 km2 in 1998 along with a
corresponding decline in biodiversity and the extinction of a
number of endemic species (Zhao et al. 2005). Drainage is
accompanied by agricultural expansion in Papua New
Guinea (Ballard 2001). Decreasing flow of freshwater into
the mangroves and drainage of peatlands have resulted in
their loss. Urban development and agricultural activities,
which often extend right into the wetlands, impinge most of
the hydrology of the wetlands. Embankments created along
the rivers for preventing floods directly eliminate the
floodplains which are later brought under various land uses.
A glaring example of threats to wetlands is that of Keoladeo
Ghana National Park (Bharatpur, India) which was designated a Ramsar site for its large avifaunal species richness,
besides being the only Indian home of the migratory Siberian Cranes. Cattle grazing and the extraction of fuelwood
and grass were perceived in 1980s as the overwhelming
threats to the wetland system and therefore banned legally
and by constructing a masonary wall around the Park.
However, these actions had only an adverse effect and
gradually, the non-availability of water after it was diverted
to agricultural and other human uses upstream, rapidly
degraded the wetland (Chauhan and Gopal 2001).
Hydrological changes result in other consequences.
Changes expected to occur over a century under different
scenarios of climate change could actually occur within a few
years because of human activity. Hydropower generation is
emerging as a major threat (WWF 2004; Mahanta 2010) to
the existence of wetlands as water regimes are altered drastically. For example, the construction of Ithai barrage for
turning the earlier seasonal wetland into a permanent reservoir was responsible for the degradation of Loktak lake and
particularly the habitat of brow antler deer (Trisal and
Manihar 2004). Increase in water-storage capacities is also
advocated by some to mitigate the impacts of frequent
extreme events, and to meet requirements in periods of
uncertainty (Agrawal et al. 2003). Alterations in waterresource management practices will influence the wetlands,
and changes in economic development will affect wetlands to
a greater degree than will climate change (Vorosmarty et al.
2000; Gopal et al. 2008; Polunin et al. 2008).

Climate change
Notwithstanding the continuing controversy over the contribution of anthropogenic activities to the observed global
warming in recent decades (e.g. see Rao 2011), greenhouse

49

gases (GHGs)mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and

nitrous oxideare undoubtedly the the primary driver of
global climate change. Recent estimates indicate that the
global mean CO2 concentrations have increased to about
370 ppm and are projected to rise to between 490 and
1,260 ppm by 2100 (Christensen 2007). Climate change,
often confused with global warming, has two main components: an increase in the global mean temperature of the
earths surface and an increased variability in precipitation
regimes with greater frequency of extreme events. The rise in
temperature has accelerated the melting of polar ice caps and
glaciers. The projected sea level rise is only one of the consequences that will affect the coastal systems, whereas the
changes in hydrological regimes (or flood pulses) caused by
glacial melt waters or altered precipitation regimes and
evaporation have greater and widespread implications for
aquatic ecosystems in general. Climate change has a direct
linkage with wetlands inasmuch they play an important role
in regulating them; wetlands are a prominent sink for carbon
as well as the major source of two greenhouse gases (GHG)
methane and nitrous oxide. I examine here briefly the scenario of climate change in the tropical Asian region before
discussing the likely impacts on different kinds of wetlands.
Climate change in tropical and subtropical Asia
Scenarios of climate change in Asia were projected in the
IPCC Report (Christensen 2007) at a regional level while
several countries have developed their country-level scenarios. The projections based on the MMD-A1B models
show that tropical Asia will experience relatively greater
rise in temperature than the mean global increase by the
end of the twenty-first century. Also, the rise is projected to
be greater in South Asia (3.3C) and Central Asia (3.7C)
than in the Southeast Asia (2.5C) Whereas in Southeast
Asia, the warming is expected to be nearly uniform
throughout the year, in other parts of tropical Asia, winter
(DecemberFebruary) temperatures are projected to rise
more. Also, the projected warming is larger than the
interannual variability in temperature (Rupa Kumar et al.
2002, 2003; May 2004b). The projections using the Hadley
Centre Regional Model (HadRM2) indicate an increase
in extreme daily maximum and minimum temperatures
throughout South Asia (Rupa Kumar et al. 2006). In
Southeast Asia, simulation model studies indicate significantly more warming in the interior of the landmasses than
in the coastal areas (McGregor and Dix 2001). Warming
over the higher altitudes in the Himalaya and in Tibet is
projected to be much greater than at lower elevations and
lower latitudes. This is of particular interest to South and
Southeast Asia because of its impact on the glaciers which
feed most of the river systems in the region (Shrestha et al.
1999; Zhao et al. 2002; Xu et al. 2005).

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50

The precipitation regimes are projected to alter variously in different parts of tropical Asia. The annual
precipitation is projected to increase over most of Asia
during the twenty-first century, and its seasonal variability
will also increase. Summer precipitation is expected to
decline over the semi-arid western central Asia but increase
in South and Southeast Asia. Most of the models project a
decrease in precipitation in the dry winter season in south
Asia and an increase during the rest of the year. Heavy
rainfall events are projected to increase in western and
eastern parts of south Asia (May 2004a; Rupa Kumar et al.
2006; Dairaku and Emori 2006). Coupled with a projected
decrease in the annual number of rainy days over most of
south Asia (Rupa Kumar et al. 2006; Chaulagain 2006),
these changes will have drastically adverse effects on
wetlands in the region. The coastal regions of south Asia
are expected to be impacted by the increased frequency of
tropical cyclones and the accompanying heavy precipitation (Unnikrishnan et al. 2006).
In Southeast Asia, projected seasonal changes vary
strongly within the region, and various countries are likely
to experience differently the climate change related hazards
such as cyclones, floods and droughts, sea level rise and
landslides (Yusuf and Francisco 2009). Also, for example,
within Philippines, warming has been experienced most in
the northern and southern regions of the country than in the
middle (http://www.doe.gov.ph/cc/ccp.htm). The overall
pattern indicates an increase in wet season rainfall and
decrease during the dry season. The region is also likely to
experience more intense daily extreme precipitation events.
However, Boer and Faqih (2004) conclude that no generalisation could be made on the impact of global warming
on rainfall over Indonesia. The Yangtze River valley
in subtropical east Asia is also likely to experience
an increase in summer precipitation along with an increase
in days with heavy rain over South China (see Christensen
et al. 2007; Kwon et al. 2009).
Climate change impacts on wetlands in tropical Asia
Studies on the impacts of climate change on wetlands have
generally focused on peat bogs and other temperate wetlands (Gitay et al. 2001; Fischlin et al. 2007). Coastal
wetlands, especially the mangroves in tropical Asia, have
received particular attention in relation to the rising sea
levels. Peat swamps of Indonesia have also attracted some
attention with reference to the potential of increasing fires
following prolonged dry periods and its feed back effects.
A detailed analysis of the climate change impacts on other
wetlands in tropical Asia is so far not available except for a
recent regional study for Eastern Himalaya which includes
many high altitude glacial lakes and montane temperate
wetlands (Gopal et al. 2010).

123

B. Gopal

Climate change impacts may be considered at two levels: (a) the impacts of forcing factors such as the increasing
concentrations of CO2 and other GHGs and the resultant
rise in temperature, and (b) their indirect impacts caused by
alterations in the hydrological regimes on wetland processes and the overall impacts on different ecosystem
goods and services.
In natural wetlands, elevated CO2 concentrations are
reported to promote carbon fixation in C3 plants such as
emergent macrophytes (Gitay et al. 2001), but the effects
on C4 species that are common in the tropics are not well
known. An increase in CO2 concentration is shown to
enhance rice productivity in cool climates, but temperature
becomes limiting to grain maturation beyond a threshold
limit (varying according to rice species) (Lin et al. 2005;
Jagadish et al. 2007; Prasad et al. 2006). In south and
southeast Asia, rice crops could be reduced as they are
vulnerable to increased minimum temperatures; grain
maturation has a threshold temperature of 26C and yield
decreases by about 10% for every one degree increase
above this threshold during the post-flowering period.
Recent studies in India show large variations in impacts
depending upon the region, rice varieties and agronomic
practices (irrigated versus rainfed; MOEF 2010).
Most of the wetlands in tropical Asia are adapted to high
summer temperatures, prolonged drought and large seasonal
and inter-annual variations in water regimes. However, very
little is known in general of the effects of temperature
increases of primary productivity or the changes in species
composition in tropical regions and it is unlikely that the
tropical biota will respond similarly to those in temperate
climates. As mentioned in the case of rice, the effects of
temperature rise on primary productivity would be greatly
linked to the water regimes-availability, duration and timing.
In the mountains, an increase in temperature is likely to result
in an upward shift of the snowline and, therefore, species
distribution may shift to higher elevations. An average 1C
rise in temperature may cause most species to extend their
distribution upwards by 300 m. Exotic invasive species,
such as water hyacinths, have already been extending their
range into the hills and may spread to higher elevations to
take refuge against lower winter temperatures. Further
increase in temperature will affect also through several
changes in the physico-chemical environment such as those
caused by reduced availability of dissolved oxygen and CO2.
Larval stages of many invertebrates have narrow temperature ranges for development and a rise of 1C may affect their
life cycles. In larger water bodies in the tropics (e.g., Lake
Tanganyika), a lowering of photosynthesis and decline in
fish production has been reported with the rise in temperature
over time. Bickford et al. (2010) observe that the climate
changes within the next fifty years will severely and irreversibly affect the amphibians and reptiles in Southeast Asia.

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

The implications of climate change for wetlands in

tropical and subtropical Asia differ from those elsewhere in
several ways. As emphasised earlier, the dominant position
of the mountain chains in determining the climate and
water resources of the region, translates into the cascading
down of climate change impacts from higher elevations to
lower elevations in the foothills through hydrological
connectivity, even if the actual climate change is of a
different order of magnitude along the altitudinal gradient.
Three major differences, namely (a) the impact on glaciers
which are a major source of water in the region; (b) the sea
level rise affecting the extensive coastal wetlands, and
(c) the impact of fire caused by prolonged dry periods in
southeast Asia on peatswamps, are examined below briefly:
Impact on glaciers
Many studies on glaciers in the Himalayan ranges have
reported retreating of glaciers at an accelerated rate in
recent decades. Majority of the glaciers are relatively small
(less than 5 km2) and the rates of their recession vary
between 5 and 20 m year-1. Some glaciers have been
retreating at higher rates. The termini of many glaciers in
high-altitude valleys of Bhutan, China, and Nepal are
reported to have shifted 100 m in the last 50 years (Yamada 1993; Kattelmann 2003; Agrawal et al. 2003). In areas
such as the Dudh Koshi sub-basin in the Everest region of
Nepal (Lake Imja Tsho) and the Pho Chu basin of Bhutan,
glacial lakes have increased substantially over a relatively
short period of time. On the contrary, a recent report on the
Indian glaciers (Raina 2009) has concluded that several
glaciers have shown cumulative negative mass balance and
that the degeneration of the glacier mass has been progressively lower from the west (Jammu and Kashmir) to
the east (Sikkim). Further, the Himalayan glaciers,
although shrinking in volume and constantly showing a
retreating front, have not exhibited, especially in recent
years, an abnormal annual retreat such as that by glaciers in
Alaska or Greenland. Whereas most researchers attribute
this to an increase in atmospheric temperature related to
climate change, others have found no significant relationship between temperature and snout retreat rate, but
attribute the year to year variations to a disequilibrium in
mass balance between melting and snow deposition.
Although snowmelt in the Eastern Himalayas contributes less to the total runoff than snowmelt in the Western
Himalayas, seasonal changes are expected in the timing
and distribution of surface runoff; and this could increase
during autumn and occur earlier and faster during spring. A
recent study in Nepal shows that the total availability of
water in the country will increase from the current 176.1 to
178.4 km3/year in 2030 and then decrease to 128.4 km3/
year in 2100 (Chaulagain 2006). This will have significant

51

impacts on the wetlands at low elevations and in the plains

as they depend on runoff from upstream areas.
Sea level rise
Whereas the rise in temperature and the increased CO2
levels are likely to increase mangrove productivity, change
phenological patterns, and expand the ranges of mangrove
species into higher latitudes, the climate change impacts on
mangrove ecosystems are likely to be quite devastating due
to the associated sea-level rise (Nicholls et al. 1999). The
projections by the IPCC suggest a global rise in sea level of
988 cm by 2100, an average rate of 0.98.8 mm a-1.
Mangrove forests occupy an inter-tidal habitat, and are
extensively developed on accretionary shorelines where
sediment supply determines their ability to keep up with
sea-level rise. The decreasing trend of freshwater flows in
the rivers, either because of altered precipitation regimes or
because of human withdrawal and diversion, is also likely
to have a synergistic effect on the decline of mangroves.
Mangroves of low relief islands in carbonate settings that
lack rivers are likely to be the most sensitive to sea-level
rise, owing to their sediment-deficit environments. The
retreat of mangrove zones with slowly rising sea-level has
been demonstrated from the extensive coastal swamps of
southern New Guinea (Irian Jaya). The oft-quoted reports
for Bangladesh and Indian Sundarban mangroves show that
substantially large areas of mangroves are vulnerable to sea
level rise (Sarwar 2005; MOEF 2010).
Incidence of fire and its impacts
The increased frequency of fire in peatswamp forests caused
by their drainage, landuse changes and long dry spells is a
matter of concern not only for the loss of wetlands with high
biodiversity (Anderson and Bowen 2000; Yule 2010) but
also because of its feedback impacts on wildlife, human
health and economy (Harrison et al. 2009; Page et al. 2009).
Hooijer et al. (2010) estimate that in 2006, the carbon dioxide
emission caused by the decomposition of drained peatlands
was between 355 and 855 Mt year-1, of which 82% came
from Indonesia (largely Sumatra and Kalimantan). Thus,
CO2 emission from peatland drainage in Southeast Asia
alone contributed 1.33.1% of the current total global CO2
emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels (Joosten 2010).

Status of wetland research

Wetlands of all kinds have been investigated all over
tropical Asian region for at least a century, though the
earlier focus was mostly on the distribution of biota, a few
habitat factors and water quality. Aquatic ecosystems such

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52

as lakes, reservoirs and rivers which are covered by the

term wetland according to the Ramsar definition, were
among the first to be investigated at the turn of the twentieth century (Gopal and Zutshi 1998; Schiemer and
Boland 1996). Peatswamps of southeast Asia and the
mangroves received considerable attention in the middle of
the last century (Macnae 1968) and among the human
made and human-managed wetlands, the paddy fields and
fish ponds have been extensively investigated (e.g. Heckman 1979; Fernando et al. 2005). The avifauna, their
feeding, breeding and nesting behaviour and migration
patterns were investigated long before the term wetland
came into popularity.
The recognition of the values and functions of wetlands,
interpreted in recent years as their ecosystem goods and
services, has resulted in numerous studies in all countries
of the region. Several conservation oriented organisations
such as the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Wetlands International have joined hands with universities, research
institutes and national NGOs to advance the understanding
these ecosystems. These studies focus primarily on the
management issues, participation of local wetland-dependent communities in the wise use of wetlands, and
conservation of biodiversity, particularly the rare, endangered and migratory species. In India, many studies were
made on the economic valuation of various kinds of wetlands (including lakes) under a World Bank funded project
on Capacity Building in Ecological Economics (Parikh and
Datye 2003).
However, our understanding of these ecosystems and the
drivers that determine their structure and functions remain
far from satisfactory. It is surprising but true that comprehensive, systematically collected scientific information
is not available even for most of the wetlands designated
under the Ramsar Convention. Detailed inventories which
include basic information on their hydrological, physical,
chemical, and biological characteristics as well human use
and impacts are urgently required (see also, Sahagian and
Melack 1998). A list or a map of their distribution and area
is of no help in assessing their functions or ecosystem
services and, consequently, the likely impacts of anthropogenic activities or climate change. For example, the
downstream impacts of hydrological regulation through
water abstraction, storage and diversion on fisheries,
floodplain biota, water quality, human communities and
their livelihoods are widely debated, but neither adequate
baseline data exists for reference nor any systematic study
has been undertaken. Likewise, an understanding of the
responses of wetlands to climate change requires studies on
primary production, fate of organic matter, rates of carbon
sequestration in sediments, and the role of planktonic and
benthic diversity in carbon and nutrient transfer along the

123

B. Gopal

food chain as well as the responses of wetland biota to

elevated CO2 concentration, temperature and hydrological
parameters. The distribution ranges of plant and animal
species need to be monitored over a long-term. While the
invasive species of both plants and animals are widely
perceived as a threat to the wetlands, detailed investigations on the impacts of these invasives have rarely been
attempted.
Infrastructure for wetland research
Most of the universities throughout the region contribute to
some research on wetlands in respective countries. A few
universities have set up departments or centres devoted to
studies on aquatic ecosystems; for example, the Dept of
Aquatic Biology at the University of Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram) and the Dept of Limnology at Barkatullah
University (Bhopal) and the Centre for Marine Biology at
Annamalai University (Pangipettai, Tamilnadu) in India,
various institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
an Institute of Wetland Research in Beijing in China, and
the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol
University, Thailand. Among other Indian universities,
mention may be made of the Kashmir University, Srinagar
(J&K), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The Salim Ali Centre
of Ornithology and Natural History at Coimbatore, set up as
a Centre of Excellence by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Government of India, is devoted to wetlands.
Among other Indian institutions, the Wildlife Institute of
India at Dehradun, the Central Inland Fisheries Research
Institute, Barrackpore, the Bombay Natural History Society,
Mumbai, Wetlands international-South Asia and the WWFIndia contribute significantly to the studies on wetlands. A
state level Institute of Environmental Studies and Wetland
Management has been set up at Kolkata by the Government
of West Bengal. In China, Dongting Lake Observation and
Research Station for Wetland Ecosystem was set up in 2010
by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Training in wetland science and management
There is no specific course offered on wetlands at undergraduate or postgraduate level in any University or Institute.
A short-term training course for in-service professionals
engaged in wetland conservation and management was first
designed in India by the WWF-India which also published a
Handbook for the purpose (Gopal 1995). Later, the Wildlife
Institute of India conducted several similar short-term
courses with support from UNESCO and the Government of
India. More recently, an Asian Wetlands Network was
established in 2005 at the Faculty of Environment and
Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand (under the

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

leadership of Dr Sansanee Choowaew who received the

Ramsar Award for her efforts), in collaboration with The
Colombo Plan Secretariat and Thailand International
Development Cooperation Agency. The Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, has
regularly conducted International Training Courses on
Ecology and Management of Tropical Wetlands for the
southeast Asian region, particularly the Mekong basin
countries. Organisations and institutions from several other
countries such as Myanmar and Korea collaborate in the
programme. An international training course in mangroves
is conducted regularly at the Centre of Advanced Study in
Marine Biology, Annamalai University (India) jointly with
the Institute for Water, Environment and Health of the UN
University and UNESCO.

Wetland conservation and restoration

Rapid degradation and loss of wetlands, together with a
recognition of their value for wildlife and recreation,
brought about a quick change in the attitude of human
societies in developed, mostly temperate, regions, where a
resource-oriented view of wetlands has been replaced by a
landscape level ecological perspective. However, countries
in tropical and subtropical Asia, like other less developed
countries, continue to view wetlands as resources to be
exploitedat least at a local level. However, most of these
countries have joined hands with various international initiatives, though for different reasons and not guided solely
by a strong desire for conservation. Most of the countries in
the region are contracting parties of the Ramsar Convention
and have designated some wetlands as those of international
importance (Table 8). The Ramsar Convention requires the
contracting parties to not only designate wetlands of international importance within their respective territories but
also to include wetland conservation considerations in their
national land-use planning so as to promote, as far as possible, the wise use of wetlands and to establish nature
reserves in wetlands, whether or not they are included in the
Ramsar List, and to promote training in the fields of
wetland research, management and wardening. Sadly, in
many cases even these Ramsar sites are not being appropriately managed and protected while other wetlands
continue to be lost or degraded.
Law and policies
All threats to wetlands from diverse human activities are a
consequence of inappropriate or faulty policies and institutional arrangements. Water policies in all countries of the
region accord high priority for irrigational, domestic and
industrial use with no or little concern for the rivers and

53

Table 8 Number of wetlands of international importance (Ramsar

sites) designated by countries in tropical Asia under the Ramsar
Convention (as on 10 June 2011)
Country

Sites

Bahrain

6,810

Bangladesh

611,200

China
India
Indonesia

37
25
5

Total area (ha)

3,168,535
677,131
964,600

Iran

24

Iraq

137,700

Israel

366

Lao PDR

14,760

Malaysia

134,158

Myanmar

256

Nepal

34,455

Pakistan

19

1,486,438

1,343,627

Papua New Guinea

594,924

Philippines

132,032

Sri Lanka

19,011

Thailand

11

372,800

United Arab Emirates

Vietnam

2
3

13,020
35,807

Yemen

? Area not reported by the country

wetlands. The land use policies do not take into account the
direct or indirect impact on wetlands. There is a general
lack of consistency and coordination among various government policies that affect wetlands as much as other
natural resources (see, Torell et al. 2001; Smardon 2009).
This requires an integrated economic valuation approach
(see Turner et al. 2000).
None of the countries in tropical Asia have a specific
national policy exclusively aimed at protecting wetlands. In
Malaysia, a National Wetland Policy is currently being
debated and consultations are being held with various
stakeholders. In Thailand, a National Wetland Policy and
Action Plan were adopted in September 1997 by the Cabinet. These are being implemented through the National
Committee on Wetland Management. In India, a draft
national wetland policy was prepared with the efforts of the
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai,
with inputs from several NGOs and submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests which did not consider it
necessary for adoption (IGIDR 1998). In Bangladesh, a
National Wetland Policy has been drafted by the IUCN for
the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
In most countries, however, specific National Wetland
Action Plans have been prepared for gradual implementation. They include Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Pakistan,

123

54

Philippines and Vietnam (Anonumous 1995, 1996a, b, c,

2002).
In China, the Wetland Conservation Action Plan, finalised only recently, with the support of WWF China and
Wetlands International, includes a survey of national wetland resources through the State Forestry Administration,
and provides for the creation of a large number of wetland
reserves. Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka have wetland management plans for some important wetlands only. In
Myanmar, the wetland related issues are covered indirectly
by its National Environment Policy of December 1994.
In some cases, legal and policy measures have been
taken for specific wetlands or in relation to particular
stresses. In India, the Ministry of environment and Forests
has notified Wetland Regulation rules under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986, thereby regulating a range of
activities in and around the Ramsar sites. A Wetland regulatory Authority has been constituted to examine and
regulate the activities proposed to be undertaken in these
wetlands. The rules provide for similar action in and around
other wetlands if the State governments identify them for
such regulation. In 2007, the Government of Indonesia
imposed a ban on conversion of peat swamps to oil palm
plantations, but lifted it in 2009 (report in Guardian). More
recently, the Government has again placed a moratorium (in
May 2011) on the development of new oil palm and pulp
plantations, and logging and mining concessions for the
conversion of about 95 Mha of peat swamps in exchange of
funds from Norway, as an effort towards reducing GHG
emissions from forest and peatland loss (Wetlands International, press release).
Measures for wetland conservation
One of the most common and convenient measures used in
conservation is the establishment of legally protected areas
under different names according to the degree of protection
from human interventions (Dudley 2008). Long before the
Ramsar Convention, most countries had protected many
wetland habitats as reserve forests, nature reserves,
national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Some of these were
later designated under the Ramsar Convention (for example, Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India), while
many other wetlands were identified for designation only
as Ramsar sites. Some wetlands together with their
surrounding/adjacent areas enjoy multiple status for conservation (e.g., Biosphere Reserve or World Heritage),
though they are not considered for designation as internationally important wetlands under the Ramsar Convention.
For example, Kaziranga National Park in Assam, in the
vast floodplain of river Brahmaputra, and the extensive
Sundarban mangroves in the GangaBrahmaputraMeghna
delta.

123

B. Gopal

In China, the government started establishing natural

wetland reserves of wetlands in the early 1970s (Zhao and
He 2005). Their number increased from 14 wetland reserves
(covering 5,970 km2) in 1980 to 477 reserves (total area
425,000 km2) in 2003, and over 700 reserves in 2010 (An
et al. 2007). These reserves, managed by the national,
provincial or local governments, are placed in three categories: wetland reserves (full protection from development
and most human activities), wetland parks (full protection
from development but use for ecotourism), and scenic parks
(protection from development but open to the public for
recreation). The Chinese government plans to bring more
than 90% of natural wetlands under some level of protection
by 2030 (An et al. 2007). Their National Program of Wetland Protection Engineering plans also to restore the
degraded wetlands into wetland parks and wetland reserves,
and takes into consideration over 10,000 km2 of the coastal
wetland habitats which may emerge by 2050 because of the
deposition of thousands of million tonnes of sediments
carried by the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Haihe River,
and the Pearl River along their mouths.
Unfortunately, the legal protection against extraction of
natural resources, hunting, poaching, encroachment, grazing and other forms of human use within the boundaries of
the wetlands does not ensure conservation. The wetlands
are characterised by their specific hydrological regimes,
which are usually regulated by the natural processes and
anthropogenic activities outside their boundaries and in the
river basins of which they are an integral part. Physical
protection does not prevent the movement of invasive
species. It is not readily realised that the wetlands in
tropical Asia, under the seasonal monsoonic climate, have
coevolved with the human societies which have closely
interacted and managed them over centuries. Therefore, the
elimination of human component of these ecosystems often
becomes counter productive and creates new more complex problems. This has been learned the hard way in case
of Bharatpur, but the managers still are not prepared to
change their strategies towards adaptive management. The
maintenance of the hydrological regimes is the key to
conservation. There is an urgent need for improving efficiency of water use in agriculture (e.g., Jian et al. 2009),
establishing environmental flows and improving dam
operations in all regulated rivers to provide for the required
hydrological regimes (see also Kingsford 2011).
Restoration initiatives
The importance of wetland restoration as well as approaches to it have been highlighted in several publications
(e.g., Henry and Amoros 1995; Middleton 1999; Ramsar
2003; Erwin 2009). Some efforts have been initiated to
mitigate the problems of wetland degradation in some of

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

the countries. There is hardly any example of typical restoration of degraded wetlands though the rehabilitation has
sometimes taken into consideration the hydrological factors. The most prominent example is that of lake Chilika, a
Ramsar site in India. The natural hydrographic processes
had blocked the mouth of this large coastal lagoon. This
prevented the tidal exchange of sea water with the lagoon
and resulted in drastic changes in salinity patterns and
consequently the productivity of shrimp fisheries, among
many other changes. Lake Chilika was then placed in the
Montreux list of the Ramsar Convention. The Chilika
Development Authority which is responsible for the management of this wetland, dredged through the sand bars to
restore a connection with the sea. The revival of the
hydrological regime boosted the fisheries several folds,
enhanced the biodiversity, the wetland was removed from
the Montreux list and India was awarded by the Ramsar
Convention for the successful restoration.
Restoration of the flooding regimes alone may not
necessarily result in the restoration of the wetlands. In fact,
it will always be nearly impossible to revert back to the
earlier free flow regimes of the rivers, and the conversion
of wetlands may be irreversible. Several recent reports on
the restoration of Mesopotamian marshes suggest their
limited restoration potential, partly also because of high
salinity and accumulation of toxic substances in the sediments (Richardson et al. 2005; Richardson and Hussain
2006; DouAbul et al. 2009; Rahi and Halihan 2010).
In China, to rehabilitate the Yangtze river floodplain
wetlands, reclamation has been stopped and measures are
being taken to improve the catchment in order to prevent
sediment loss. In India, catchment treatment has formed a
part of the mitigation measures as in case of Lake Loktak
(Manipur) and Lake Harike (Punjab) and Bhoj wetland
(Madhya Pradesh). In Malaysia, the drainage of North
Selangor Peat Swamps has been prohibited.
Mitigating the problems of the local communities,
which are affected by way of displacement and denial of
access to the natural resources due to protection to the
degraded wetlands, often forms a large component of the
restoration effort. This includes the provision of alternate
resources and livelihoods, involvement of the local communities in conservation work and ecotourism.
The restoration of mangroves has always focused on
replanting. In the Philippines, mangrove replantation has
moved from community initiatives (1930s1950s) to
government-sponsored projects (1970s) to large-scale international development assistance programs (since 1980s)
(Primavera and Esteban 2008). In Indonesia, mangrove
species are replanted in abandoned shrimps ponds in Java,
linking it with poverty reduction and livelihood development
(Wetlands International). In India, M.S. Swamithan Research
Foundation undertook mangrove restoration in several areas

55

on the east coast by employing the same plantation strategy.

In most cases, the replantation is done with more salt-tolerant
species than the earlier dominant ones.
In the context of mangroves, Biswas et al. (2009)
recently argued that although ecological issues are of prime
importance, economic and social issues must be considered
in the restoration plan in order for it to be successful. They
call for utilising the local ecological knowledge to fill the
baseline information gaps, for encouraging community
participation by facilitating their livelihoods.
Institutional setup and governance
The main problem with the governance and management of
wetlands arises from the multiplicity of stakeholders and
institutions dealing with different resources and their users.
Irrigation, fisheries, agriculture, land use, water pollution,
recreation are all dealt with by different institutions/organisations. Inadequate interagency coordination was recognised
as a major barrier to a coherent management strategy for
wetlands throughout the lower Mekong basin (Oh et al.
2005).
Further, the emphasis on rapid economic development
without appreciating or assessing the true economic
importance of wetlands and their ecosystem services has
led to the breakdown of traditional wise use practices and
local community-based wetland management institutions.
Many studies throughout the region have discovered the
importance of traditional management systems and the rich
understanding and knowledge of the local/traditional
communities in sustainably managing the wetlands. A
report on the governance of wetlands in the lower Mekong
region emphasised the need to incorporate the rights and
responsibilities of diverse resource users into decisions
over wetlands management from local to regional scales
and called for support to customary systems of management (Oh et al. 2005). Therefore, there is a growing
realisation that institutional reform and innovation are
needed for participatory management with the support of
civil society (Hettiarachchi et al. 2011; Narayanan and
Chourey 2011). How best this can be achieved by various
national governments remains a major challenge.

The future of wetlands

The current state of wetlands and the approaches and
policies for their management, coupled with our scientific
understanding of these ecosystems, in tropical Asia do not
appear to hold out a promising bright future for them
especially in the wake of climate change. One could paint
two contrasting scenarios for the future (Fig. 4). The worst
possible and a pessimistic one is the Degradation Scenario

123

56

B. Gopal

Fig. 4 Framework of human

activities and policies for
wetland degradation versus
restoration

in which wetlands may continue to be degraded and lost

and even those placed under protection may be threatened.
The tropical Asian region is the most densely populated
region with a high population growth that is unlikely to
stabilise by the middle of this century. This region is witnessing rapid economic growth, urbanisation and
industrialisation. The demand for water is increasing not
only for agriculture, settlements and industry but the limited, unevenly distributed water resources are seriously
threatened by growing focus on hydropower and huge
multipurpose water storages, often in name of flood control. Interbasin transfers, currently on a minor scale, are
being considered on a massive scale. Environmental policies are not only faulty because they are not always backed
by strong scientific knowledge, but suffer from lack of
coordination, poor implementation and lack of political
will. Institutions and governance are largely out of synch
with the changing situations, and are guided by experiences
in developed and temperate or unrelated regions. The
management generally ignores the social and cultural
components and the concerns of the traditional human
societies dependent upon wetlands. Climate change will
only exacerbate the anthropogenic impacts with increasing
thermal and hydrological stresses.
However, there is a Conservation Scenario with optimism and hope for a better future. Most of the countries

123

in the region have joined the international Conventions

related to wetlands, biodiversity and climate change. The
developed countries have started realising the social and
cultural differences and the need for community participation in managing the natural resources. It is quite
possible that appropriate shifts in policy will occur in
response to the demands from within as well as outside
the countries, and there will be greater international
cooperation. The loss of ecosystem services of wetlands is
likely to compel the governments and local communities
to start restoration activities and change the paths of
development.
I would reiterate what we said earlier in the context of
Sundarban mangroves (Gopal and Chahan 2006). Successful long-term restoration and management of wetlands
hinges upon our ability and capacity to manage efficiently
the limited freshwater resources for meeting both human
and environmental needs, coupled with our effective
adaptive responses to the incremental, often synergistic,
threats from climate change. We have to choose our priorities for research towards better understanding of
wetlands. The future of wetlands, thus, lies not only in
protecting the present wetlands, but managing them with
proper understanding, in a river basin wide perspective,
and with adaptive strategies to meet the increasing environmental uncertainty imposed by climate change.

Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change

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