1. In this book I have published my Ph.D. work. 2. This book has been written in a simple and comprehensible language. 3. The important laws, concepts examples and principles have been given in the simple form to help the students to focus on them. 4. This book is intended to serve as a conceptual book for the students of B.Sc. M.Sc and for those preparing for Ph.D. as well as S.E.T./N.E.T. the work which has been written in this book is just a small attempt in the area of studying the pollutants and their dynamics. It is therefore possible that the work may be extended further.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic, degradation resistant, bio accumulative, and display wide spatial distribution which has been linked to mutagenic, reproductive and immunological disorders. In Stockholm Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic, degradation resistant, bio-accumulative, and display wide spatial distribution, which has been linked to mutagenic, reproductive, and immunological disorders. At the Stockholm Convention, a global treaty was signed to minimize and ultimately eliminate the release of POPs into the environment. The present compilation regarding POPs focusses on the sources, atmospheric behavior, terrestrial and aquatic food chain transfer, human exposure, and fate aspects of this important class of chemicals, including topical issues like temporal trends in contamination. Furthermore, the chemical characteristics of individual POPs are also addressed. Features: Provides better understanding of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and how they affect humans and ecosystems. Includes genesis, categories, environmental fate and behavior, and associated hazards. Reviews analytical techniques involved in detection, human exposure and management. Discusses environmental dynamics of POPs. Focuses on the comprehensive account of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PAH and other organochlorine POPs, such as DDT, lindane, and dieldrin. This book is aimed at researchers, professionals and graduate students in Life Science, Occupational Health and Safety, Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

Wetlands are amongst the World’s most productive ecosystems and provide a wide array of benefits. They also provide an ecological niche for the growth of rich flora and fauna, and enable the people to derive economic benefits. However, the growing population pressures, vastly changing social processes, and developmental activities have put a heavy toll on wetlands around the world. Especially, after the Ramsar Convention, need for sustainable management of these valuable ecosystems is strongly felt and many positive initiatives are taken during last decade. The Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India have devoted considerable efforts to wetlands and their conservation since the setting up of a National Committee on Wetlands in 1983. The scheme on conservation and management of wetlands was started in 1986-1987 at national level with the objective of understanding a comprehensive study and maintenance of naturalness of important wetlands like Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary-The 1st Ramsar Site of Gujarat, India. Wetlands are highly dynamic systems, which continuously interact with other systems and anthropogenic activities in their catchments in various ways. All ecosystems interact with adjoining ecosystems in some manner, which are more varied and intense in case of natural wetlands like Nal Sarovar. Hydrology in this case refers to all water related features such as precipitation, inflow and outflow, evaporation and the resultant factors like depth and duration of water, frequency and duration of flooding, and the amplitude of water-level changes. Therefore, even small changes in the hydrological characteristics of the lake bring about significant changes in the community structure and function. It gives us an immense pleasure in presenting this comprehensive book on “Conserving Sanctity of Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary ‘Ramsar Site’ by Community Participatory Approach”. The Nal Sarovar, a shallow, permanent fresh water lake, that sprawl at the junction of mainland of Central Gujarat and Saurashtra, attracts one of the largest concentrations of migratory and resident waterfowl found in India. Although it is yet to be recognized internationally, the lake has been identified as priority site for intensive conservation and management of National Wetlands, Mangroves, and Coral Reefs Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change, Government of India. This book embodies an in-depth information on Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary in terms of point and non point sources of pollution, nutrient budget and recycling of nutrients in water and bottom sediments, planktons as indicators and markers of pollution, macrophytes as indicators of quality of wetlands, bioaccumulation of heavy metals in aquatic macrophytes, suitability of habitat for waterfowl conservation, impact of various anthropogenic pressures and conservation and site-specific management strategies for sustainable use of biotic resources with suitable recommendations and mitigating measures. We hope this book will be of great help to scientists, teachers, students, wetland conservationists, and managers in this field.

With reference to Barharwa, a town in Jharkhand state, India.

Wetlands occur expansively all over the world in all the climatic zones and are appraised to harbour nearly 6.4% of the Earth’s surface, of which India domiciles about 18.4% of global wetlands and Gujarat 36% of country wetlands. As per Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), wetlands deliver 45% of the world’s natural productivity and ecosystem services of which the benefits are estimated at $20 trillion a year. Thus, wetlands exhibit enormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominant plants and soil or sediment characteristics. Wetlands directly and indirectly support millions of people in providing services such as food, fibre and raw materials, storm and flood control, clean water supply, scenic beauty and educational and recreational benefits. Apart from beneficiary contribution of wetlands to the ecosystem, biotic and abiotic components, and human inhabitants, the very subsistence of these unique natural resources is under intimidation due to developmental activities, population pressure, and anthropogenic stress. Globally, the areal extent of wetland ecosystems ranges from 917 million hectares (m ha) to more than 1275 m ha with an estimated economic value of about USD 15 trillion a year. Overall, 1052 Sites in Europe; 289 Sites in Asia; 359 Sites in Africa; 175 Sites in South America; 211 Sites in North America; and 79 Sites in Oceania region have been recognized as per international recognition for designation to be handled under protected areas. It gives us an immense pleasure in presenting this comprehensive book on Ecosystem Analysis of Two Tropical Community Reservoirs of India. This book covers an extensive research on two significant wetlands of national importance of Central Gujarat, India, listed in ‘Asian Directory of Wetlands’, highlighting point and non-point sources of pollution, nutrient budget and recycling of nutrients in surface water and bottom sediments, planktons as indicators and markers of pollution, macrophytes as indicators of quality of wetlands, suitability of habitat for waterfowl conservation, and conservation and site-specific management strategies for sustainable use of biotic resources with recommendations and mitigating measures. We hope that this book will be of a great help to students, teachers, scientists, wetland conservationists, policy makers and government authorities, in enhancing their knowledge in the field of wetland ecology, biodiversity, conservation, restoration, and management for sustaining prevailing abiotic and biotic resources for better future.

This book is an essential knowledge base for both ecological restoration and management. Although tropical lakes are not identical, and therefore require individually developed and restoration and management practices; there are general principles in both restoration and management that can be derived from the case histories in this book and the limnological literature in general.

Natural Water Treatment Systems for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply in the Indian Context is based on the work from the Saph Pani project (Hindi word meaning potable water). The book aims to study and improve natural water treatment systems, such as River Bank Filtration (RBF), Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), and wetlands in India, building local and European expertise in this field. The project aims to enhance water resources and water supply, particularly in water stressed urban and peri urban areas in different parts of the Indian sub-continent. This project is co-funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework (FP7) scheme of small or medium scale focused research projects for specific cooperation actions (SICA) dedicated to international cooperation partner countries. Natural Water Treatment Systems for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply in the Indian Context provides: an introduction to the concepts of natural water treatment systems (MAR, RBF, wetlands) at national and international level knowledge of the basics of MAR, RBF and wetlands, methods and hydrogeological characterisation an insight into case studies in India and abroad. This book is a useful resource for teaching at Post Graduate level, for research and professional reference.