WETLANDS IN INDIA AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES: CONSERVATION THROUGH TRADITION, CULTURE AND SPIRITUALITY

Abstract

Wetlands are one of Earth’s most productive and diverse ecosystems, acting as crucial links between land and water. Wetlands are biodiversity-rich ecosystems that provide critical ecological services — water purification, flood regulation, fisheries, carbon sequestration and cultural benefits — particularly in rural India. Tribal and indigenous communities across India have long used customary institutions, ritual practice, and place-based ecological knowledge to manage and conserve wetlands. This paper reviews various traditional practices of these communities for multiple purposes (livelihood, ritual, seasonal resource use) and examines how these practices contribute to wetland protection and resilience. Studying well-documented case examples, recurring themes like community-based access rules, sacred protection, rotational harvest, integrated farming–aquatic systems, taboos and philosophies, engineered small-scale hydrological modifications, and knowledge-driven monitoring, were highlighted. It is well established that long standing cultural, spiritual and livelihood practices of indigenous population enable human societies to thrive, adapt to environmental change, and use nature in a sustainable way. So, the recognition, documentation, and co-management that centres indigenous knowledge are essential to sustaining wetland functions and community well-being.