Conservation of Wetland through Landscape Management Strategies: a case of Nandur Madhmeshwar, Niphad, Nashik, Maharashtra

Abstract

Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary is a protected (1986) wetland ecosystem in Nashik district, Maharashtra, and as Ramsar site since June 2019. Two corridors of Central Asia flyway pass through this region (Flyway, 2010). The wetland is a mosaic of marshes and riparian forest patches in a semi-arid region with 750mm rainfall (Ramsar, 2020). The geomorphic setting is a confluence of two rivers, Godavari and Kadwa, where the constructed weir and fertile alluvial soil belt's presence have led to predominant landuse being farming. Biodiversity here is affected by anthropogenic activities, agriculture runoff, sewerage and effluents disposed in the waterbody (SANDRP, 2020). Study of water and soil sample collected by the author on 02 January 2023 exhibit the presence of high levels of heavy metals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sodium1. Spread of invasive fish and plant species like Prosopis juliflora are some major concerns. Regional landscape challenges can be tackled through adaptive collaborative management, stakeholder involvement by shared goals, management strategies at multiple scales, and through multiple objectives (Sayer, Terry, Jaboury, Michelle, 2013). Human well-being is intertwined with ecosystem health in ways that require to be studied in terms of "contextually relevant constituents. objective, subjective and relational components" (Matthew Agarwala, 2014). It is intuitively known that better management of agriculture practices, waste disposal, and water extraction are necessary conditions for ecological restoration of the wetland through landscape management framework. The study will inquire into the physical, spatial and social indicators undertaking site mapping, synthesising physiographic and other landscape data, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and their site adaptation strategies towards issues identification, and prioritization. Due to the fact that there is no singly accepted conceptual framework for assessment (Irene van Kam, 2003), this study employs a grounded approach is employed in order to advance a framework including biodiversity, water quality, and activities suitable to the Eco-sensitive zone. This framework is based on the current scholarship on Ecosystems health and human well-being.