Nearly 30% of the natural wetlands in India have been lost in the last three decades mainly to illegal construction, unsustainable urbanisation, agricultural expansion and pollution, according to estimates by Wetlands International South Asia. In addition to urbanisation needs, lack of awareness and knowledge on wetlands and their ecosystem services can be blamed for this widespread loss. The ecosystem services of wetlands need to be highlighted in our development policies, urban planning and climate change mitigation. In our next post, we'll be discussing the type of action required to address this issue at scale. Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/environment/the-state-of-india-s-urban-wetlands-and-why-they-need-to-be-protected-urgently-78456