DPS wetland declared Flamingo Conservation Reserve

Navi Mumbai: The Delhi Public School (DPS) wetland in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai has been declared as a DPS Flamingo Conservation Reserve.

The DPS Lake, or DPS Flamingo Lake, as it is popularly known, is spread over 30 acres in the Seawoods area of Navi Mumbai.

DPS Flamingo Lake is part of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary’s satellite wetland ecosystem.

Many flamingos fly to the satellite wetlands such as Panje, DPS lake, NRI and T S Chanakya wetlands along the creek for resting and in search of food.

The Thane Creek hosts many birds migrating on the Central Asian Flyway, and is a Ramsar site.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the Maharashtra State Wildlife Board presided over by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.

State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, who incidentally hails from Navi Mumbai, was present at the meeting.

“DPS wetland has been declared as Flamingo Conservation Reserve,” Bombay Natural History Society Director Kishor Rithe said.

The Mumbai-headquartered BNHS and various organisations in Navi Mumbai had given representations seeking its declaration as a Flamingo Conservation Reserve.

The declaration of the DPS wetland as a Flamingo Conservation Reserve comes as a big victory for environmentalists.

The pink birds from TCFS fly into the satellite wetlands during the high tide.

Naik, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board, explained to the members that the lake is an important destination for flamingos, and it is important to protect it as a sensitive zone in the interest of the city's biodiversity.

NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar has earlier approached Naik with a high-level government committee recommendation to conserve the lake.

It may be recalled, Naik, who had earlier visited the lake and noticed its terrible condition, ordered the opening of two inlets and asked Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to lower the pipes to ensure proper flow of tidal water.

Plenty of algae accumulated in the lake due to the stagnant water, but now, almost 60% of the muck has been cleared, forest department officials have said.

NatConnect, Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society (NMEPS), Save Flamingos and Wetlands Forum and Kharghar Wetlands and Hills forum have also formed a human chain twice last year to focus attention on the plight of the flamingo abode.

Sandeep Sareen of NMEPS said endorsement of the proposal for the conservation reserve is a collective victory for all environment lovers. He too presented a memorandum to Naik during the Minister's Janata Darbar recently.

With the partial restoration of the water flow, the pink beauties have once again begun to flock to their favourite destination, the DPS Flamingo Lake.

BNHS has recommended repeatedly that the satellite wetlands will have to be conserved as part of the TCFS management plan.

The Thane Creek falls under the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) but is fed by numerous freshwater sources, making the water brackish. Its mangrove forests provide nurseries for several fish species, sustaining the local fisheries, and also act as a natural buffer against floods, cyclones and seawater intrusions, enhancing the resilience of surrounding areas to such climate-related hazards.