Wetlands

pH in Ambikapuram Valley Wells

pH is an important parameter in assessing drinking water quality. The value of pH is a number between 0 and 14, with 7 being neutral. Values below 7 indicate acidity and those above 7 indicate basicity. The acceptable range as per the Bureau of Indian Standards is 6.5 to 8.5.

Land Cover Change in the catchment of Ralliah Dam (2003-2016)

The Ralliah dam is one of the important sources of water for the Coonoor town. It was built in the 1930s. The catchment of the dam is mostly forest land dominated by exotics. There are wetland patches that serve to supply water to the dam throughout the year. Can you spot any changes in the […]

Land cover change around Yedappalli wetland (2012-2016)

The wetland above Yedappalli village in Coonoor taluk is an important source of water. The water flows from here are tapped downstream by the Municipality to supply water to the town. Locally there are two temples near the wetland that are using the water directly from the wetland. By comparing the images from 2012 and […]

Land cover change in Elada Dam catchment (2008-2015)

The Elada dam is an important water source for Kotagiri town in the Nilgiris. It has become dry a couple of months back and this prompted us to revisit it and see what has changed, apart from the poor rainfall this year. One easy way to look at changes over time is to use historical […]

Springs and wetlands in the Nilgiris

The Nilgiris is the source of important rivers like the Bhavani, Moyar, Chaliyar and Kabini. These rivers in turn are the lifeline of the communities that live on and near their banks. This year the monsoon has played truant and subsequently there is much less flow of water in the streams and storage levels in […]

Wetland Management Plans

Management Plan The first stage of the project was concerned with collection of data on wetlands from prominent wetlands of the Nilgiris. An attempt was made to cover as many wetlands as possible and from as many representative areas in the Nilgiris. However, the more we studied about wetlands; we realized that we have barely […]

First Survey of Wetlands in the Nilgiris (2006)

Keystone conducted a baseline survey of 38 hill wetlands. We have mapped, inventorised flora, fauna and people dependence on wetlands. Wetlands have been classified in different categories as common property resources – in rural and urban areas and in private and protected areas. In each of these categories a threat assessment has been made and […]

Wetlands & People

Wetlands have high religious, historical and other cultural significance, especially for indigenous people, around the world. Wetlands or “hanni” in local language were revered as they were a part of nature and an important link in the chain of food and economic security. However, much has changed in the social fabric of communities and wetlands […]