09 November,2025 06:17 PM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Flamingos are ambassadors of a healthy environment, said NatConnect Foundation director B. N. Kumar. Representational Pic/File
The arrival of Navi Mumbai's annual pink visitors - the flamingos - has been delayed this season, likely due to the prolonged monsoon and post-monsoon showers, reflecting the growing stress of climate change on local ecosystems, environmentalists say.
The presence of flamingos in the city's wetlands and Thane Creek is more than just a visual delight - it is a crucial indicator of ecological health, observed NatConnect Foundation director B. N. Kumar.
"Flamingos are ambassadors of a healthy environment. When they arrive in good numbers, it means the wetlands are alive. Their delayed arrival and declining presence are warning signals. The ecosystem is under stress," Kumar said.
He emphasised that protecting wetlands must be central to climate change mitigation efforts. "In coastal cities like ours, where extreme rainfall, tidal flooding and sea-level rise are now regular challenges, wetlands are not optional," Kumar stressed. "They are the protective climate infrastructure."
Flamingos also actively help maintain wetland health. As filter feeders, they consume microalgae, diatoms and tiny invertebrates in shallow waters. While feeding, they stir the sediment with their bills and feet - a natural process known as bioturbation. This gentle churning oxygenates the mudflats, regulates algal growth and supports nutrient balance, sustaining a wider web of aquatic life.
Studies documented in the AEWA/CMS International Flamingo Conservation Plan (2008) and field research compiled by BNHS for the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary Management Plan (2018) confirm that healthy flamingo flocks are strongly associated with stable algal communities and unobstructed tidal flow.
Global scientific bodies such as the Ramsar Convention and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) recognise wetlands as powerful carbon sinks. Coastal wetlands - including the mangroves and mudflats around Thane Creek - can store over 1,000 tonnes of carbon per hectare, much of it locked in deep soils. UNEP classifies this as blue carbon, a cornerstone of climate resilience.
Destroying these ecosystems does not merely remove greenery - it releases stored carbon, increases flood risk, harms fisheries and endangers public health. Studies show that protecting and restoring wetlands is far more cost-effective than building sea walls, flood pumps or desalination plants.
Ramsar guidelines also note that flamingos and other migratory waterbirds are highly sensitive to hydrological disruptions - they abandon sites when tidal flow is blocked or water quality deteriorates.
Yet, despite being a Ramsar signatory, India has formally notified only 102 wetlands out of the over two lakh mapped by ISRO, Kumar said. Maharashtra's record is particularly poor - not one of its 24,000 identified wetlands has been officially notified, largely due to prolonged bureaucratic delays in ground verification.
"We cannot afford to ignore this science," Kumar warned, urging authorities to stop debris dumping, restore tidal flow, and treat wetlands as climate assets - not as real estate waiting to be reclaimed.
