East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) are profoundly known for its unique characteristics of sewage fed wetlands which are naturally nursing the piscicultural as well as agricultural activities and in turn enhancing livelihood in greater extent.
This manmade wetland undreamed off and serving enormously for the ecological balance of the entire city and considered as the kidney of Kolkata. During the recent time the wetlands are facing tremendous threat due to natural as well as anthropogenic impacts. The EKW is designed wetlands of international importance under Ramsar Convention, however no comprehensive baseline data on the floral and faunal communities of this vulnerable ecosystem. Hence ZSI has initiated to compile all the existing information about EKW as well as collecting further details by conducting exploratory surveys in collaboration with Botanical Survey of India to document its biodiversity. A total of 1925 species including 1288 species of fauna and 637 species of flora have been documented.