World Wetlands Day 2026 was observed near Deepor Beel, Assam’s only Ramsar Site, raising alarm over the rapid degradation of this ecologically critical wetland.

About Deepor Beel

• Deepor Beel, a freshwater ox-bow lake formed by the Brahmaputra, is one of Assam’s most ecologically important wetlands, spanning 4,014 hectares in southwestern Guwahati. 
• It holds multiple conservation recognitions—Wildlife Sanctuary (1989), Ramsar Site (2002), Important Bird Area (2004), and Eco-Sensitive Zone (2021).
• Biodiversity hosted by Deepor Beel: 435 plants; 219 algae; 24 dragonflies, 15 damselflies; 31 aquatic insects; 14 Protozoas; 78 birds.
• According to environmentalists, the eastern portion of the wetland has become severely polluted due to inflow from the Bharalu and Bahini rivers and runoff from a nearby municipal dumping ground.
  • The contamination is so intense that elephant herds from Rani and Gorbhanga forests have stopped drinking from the eastern side for the last three years.
• It is highlighted that nearly 80% of aquatic vegetation has vanished, including species such as:
  • Fox nut, singori, Water lily,  Water spinach, Nisala khar and Potol khar (key food for migratory birds and fish), Dol grass, a preferred elephant fodder
• This decline threatens both migratory birds and large mammals. Deepor Beel once hosted hundreds of birds; now, food scarcity and water toxicity may disrupt winter migrations.

Concerns raised

• Encroachment and land grabbing around the wetland.
• Industrial and commercial expansion dumping waste into the beel.
• Marginalisation of indigenous communities, who were traditionally the custodians of the wetland.
• Environmentalists warned that unchecked pollution and governance failures are pushing Deepor Beel to a point of ecological collapse.

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