Phumdi-inspired, nature-based treatment systems offer a sustainable alternative to failing urban wastewater management, providing low-cost, locally rooted solutions to pollution and climate stress..
By Dr Maibam Birla Singh
Every year on World Wetlands Day (2 February), the world is reminded of the vital importance of wetlands. The global theme this year, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage”, highlights the deep cultural and ecological significance of wetlands that have supported life on Earth since time immemorial, while reminding us of our collective responsibility to protect this invaluable resource. Wetlands are lifelines: they safeguard water quality, buffer floods, sustain biodiversity, and support livelihoods. For Manipur, this message is neither abstract nor symbolic—it is immediate, local, and urgent.
Wetlands are nature’s infrastructure, long neglected and overexploited, and now in urgent need of protection. This is particularly true for Manipur, whose identity is deeply intertwined with its wetlands—132 of them at present (DoE&CC, 2025). Yet wetlands and water bodies across the state face mounting pressure from urbanisation, encroachment, and escalating pollution. Once-vibrant water bodies such as Keishampat, Porompat, Lamphelpat and Takyelpat have disappeared, transformed into densely populated urban zones. Many other low-lying marshes, village ponds and water bodies that once functioned as natural treatment systems—filtering waste and regulating water flows—are now stagnant, degraded, and pushed beyond their ecological limits.
Rapid population growth and urban expansion, particularly in and around Imphal, have sharply increased wastewater generation, while centralised sewage treatment remains grossly inadequate. The consequences are visible everywhere: polluted rivers, foul-smelling drains, eutrophication, declining fish populations, and growing public health risks. The increasing use of fertilisers and pesticides further compounds the threats to wetlands and water bodies. When wetlands are lost or degraded, their ecosystem services disappear—and society ultimately pays the price.
As the state confronts worsening water pollution, unchecked urban growth, and intensifying climate stresses such as floods, the need for sustainable, nature-based solutions has never been more pressing. In this context, constructed wetlands and floating treatment wetlands—particularly phumdi-inspired systems—offer one of the most practical pathways to restore balance between development and nature.
Constructed wetlands and floating treatment wetlands are modern solutions rooted in natural processes. These engineered ecosystems are designed to mimic the functions of natural wetlands. By harnessing aquatic plants, beneficial microbes, and controlled water flows, they remove organic pollutants, excess nutrients, and pathogens from wastewater without heavy energy use or chemical inputs. Constructed wetlands can also function as water-retention basins, providing flood control during high flows and releasing water during lean periods, thus acting as natural buffers against extreme climate events.
In floating treatment wetland systems, plants grow on buoyant platforms with their roots suspended directly in polluted water. These roots absorb nutrients, host microbial communities, and help depurate the water. Strategically placed along drains and tributaries, floating treatment wetlands can intercept pollution before it enters lakes. Treating pollutants at their point of origin is critical. Within degraded zones, floating wetlands can further polish water quality while restoring habitat complexity. One of the most effective ways to protect Loktak Lake is to stop pollution at its source—by treating wastewater before it enters the lake through constructed or floating treatment wetlands. Allowing polluted water to flow into Loktak and then relying on dredging or emergency clean-up measures is neither sustainable nor cost-effective. Such reactive approaches treat symptoms, not causes. Meaningful restoration of Loktak demands a preventive, upstream treatment strategy where pollution is intercepted and treated well before it reaches the lake.
Beyond pollution control, constructed wetlands and floating wetlands provide multiple co-benefits. They can support sustainable food production by integrating aquaculture, hydroponics, and wetland-based aquaponics, transforming wastewater treatment sites into productive, living landscapes. These approaches are not merely theoretical. They exist in traditional systems such as the Chinampas of Mesoamerica, wetland farming around Inle Lake in Myanmar, the Waru Waru systems of the Andes, and the floating vegetable gardens and lake-based livelihoods of Dal Lake in Kashmir.
In terms of cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment, constructed and floating treatment wetlands have clear advantages over conventional sewage treatment plants. They are low-cost, require minimal electricity, and do not depend on complex machinery or highly specialised operators. Once established, they are largely self-sustaining and resilient, making them ideal for resource-limited settings. They can be integrated into urban drains, institutional campuses, market areas, rural clusters, and lake inflow channels. This decentralised approach aligns with a simple principle: work with nature, not against it. These systems can enhance urban aesthetics, create green public spaces, support birds, fish, and pollinators, and contribute to biodiversity conservation. Their construction and maintenance can generate local employment while fostering public awareness, ownership, and stewardship. They are not merely environmental interventions, but long-term social and economic investments for future generation.
World Wetlands Day must not end with speeches, slogans, and posters. For Manipur, it should mark a turning point—translating awareness into policy-backed, on-ground action. This requires initiating pilot projects on constructed and floating wetlands in Imphal and its peri-urban areas to demonstrate technical and social viability; integrating phumdi-inspired wetland designs into urban and regional planning frameworks; and fostering strong partnerships among academic institutions, government agencies, and local communities for design, monitoring, and long-term management. Above all, wetlands must be formally recognised as essential public infrastructure—on par with roads, drains, and treatment plants—rather than being viewed as vacant or expendable land.
Manipur stands at a critical crossroads. One path leads to worsening pollution, shrinking wetlands, rising public health risks, and increasing dependence on costly, energy-intensive technological fixes that are difficult to sustain. The other path offers a more resilient and forward-looking choice—embracing nature-based solutions grounded in Manipur’s own ecology, traditional knowledge, and lived experience with wetlands. Which path the state ultimately chooses will depend on the wisdom and foresight of policymakers and administrators, and on their ability to translate ecological understanding into practical, long-term action.
On this World Wetlands Day, the way forward for Manipur is unmistakably clear. Past efforts to protect the state’s wetlands have often faltered due to insufficient long-term commitment from both the public and governing institutions. Short-term, quick-fix measures cannot resolve problems that are deeply ecological and cumulative in nature. Protecting Manipur’s wetlands does not mean struggling against nature or replacing it with unsustainable technologies. It means trusting, restoring, and strengthening the natural processes that have sustained this landscape for generations. In this context, constructed wetlands and floating treatment wetland systems can play a transformative role. Designed to work in harmony with Manipur’s natural wetlands, they enhance the landscape’s capacity to filter polluted water, moderate floods, support biodiversity, and restore ecological balance. By strengthening rather than replacing nature, these systems allow the land to recover quietly, efficiently, and sustainably—securing Manipur’s water resources, conserving biodiversity, and safeguarding the state’s long-term environmental and social well-being.
(The author is Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur and can be reached at [email protected])