Muthanallur Amanikere: A Forgotten Wetland

Ecological Significance and Development Threats in Bengaluru’s Peri-Urban Fringe

Within the upper catchment of the basin lies the Chinnar River, a tributary of the Dakshina Pinakini. Along the course of the Chinnar, in Anekal taluk of Bengaluru Urban District, is the seasonal wetland known as Muthanallur Amanikere. Although visible in satellite imagery and ecologically active year-round, this wetland remains unrecognized in local land records and environmental planning documents. As part of ongoing research under the Tanks of Anekal initiative, our team visited this site between 2024-2025 to examine its ecological function, biodiversity, and vulnerability to development pressure in the rapidly urbanising southern periphery of the city. We combined field surveys, GIS analysis and literature search to come up with a comprehensive understanding of the location in order to make an application with the Karnataka State Wetlands Authority for recognition of Muthanallur Amanikere as a wetlands. 

The images below were taken during our field visits for ground-truthing. We observed that the area within the wetland boundary was largely composed of agricultural and undeveloped land. Notably, the size and extent of the wetland varied with the seasons, expanding during the monsoon and shrinking in the dry months.

A Living Landscape: Biodiversity and Ecological Value

Despite the lack of formal recognition, Muthanallur Amanikere demonstrates remarkable biodiversity, particularly for a wetland embedded in a rapidly urbanizing landscape. Based on close to 2,000 species observations recorded on the iNaturalist platform¹, approximately 510 distinct species of flora and fauna have been documented in the region — a striking indication of the site’s ecological richness.

These observations reveal a thriving mosaic of aquatic and terrestrial life. Mammals such as the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)², Indian jungle cat (Felis chaus), Indian grey mongoose (Urva edwardsii), and Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) have been recorded, along with bats like the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus) and the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus).

Bird diversity is also significant — including vulnerable species such as the Indian spotted eagle (Clanga hastata) and migratory or transient birds like the whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida), black baza (Aviceda leuphotes), and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). The ebird hotspot page for Muthanallur Kere currently lists 251 species³.

The wetland’s vegetation profile includes ecologically important and culturally valued trees such as Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini, Ficus religiosa, and Madhuca longifolia, which support a wide range of pollinators, frugivores, and nesting fauna.However, the ecosystem also faces emerging threats from invasive alien species. Aquatic invasives such as Typha sp. and terrestrial shrubs like Lantana camara and Prosopis juliflora are beginning to displace native vegetation. The presence of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and giant African snails (Achatina fulica), likely introduced via nearby agriculture or aquaculture, points to broader shifts in species composition and trophic interactions.

Land Use Change, Encroachment, and Policy Ambiguity

The wetland today stands at a crossroads — surrounded by agricultural fields, eucalyptus plantations, and rapidly developing industrial zones. In the absence of formal recognition, it occupies a grey area in land-use planning, often marked in revenue maps as “empty” or “unutilized” land.

This legal ambiguity has made it susceptible to encroachment, landfill activities, and even industrial site clearance — all of which pose a direct threat to its ecological balance. As Bengaluru’s industrial expansion pushes outward into its peri-urban fringes, such wetlands are at risk of erasure before their significance is even understood.

There is a stark mismatch between the wetland’s ecological value and its current administrative invisibility. While the presence of threatened species and diverse flora signals a high conservation potential, the absence of protective boundaries or land use restrictions leaves it open to unsustainable change.

Why Recognition Matters: A Call for Protection and Research

Urban wetlands like Muthanallur Amanikere are often overlooked in spatial planning and policy, even though they perform critical ecological functions — from microclimate regulation and aquifer recharge to providing habitat for rare and threatened species. These services, while largely invisible in day-to-day governance, are foundational to the resilience of peri-urban landscapes like Anekal.

This oversight is no longer an abstract concern. The recently released Anekal Master Plan 2031⁴ envisions this wetland corridor being converted into a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). If implemented without ecological safeguards, this transformation could irreversibly alter the region’s hydrology. The loss of recharge zones would intensify water scarcity during dry months, while the removal of absorptive wetland soils could heighten flood risks, especially during increasingly erratic monsoon seasons. Moreover, the displacement of key species and the disruption of existing habitat networks could precipitate local ecological collapse.

We have seen these patterns unfold before. The degradation of Bellandur and Varthur lakes, once thriving ecosystems, now serves as a cautionary tale for Bengaluru. Wetland loss has led to severe flooding, declining groundwater levels, toxic pollution, and the unraveling of traditional water networks. And yet, these outcomes are not inevitable.

There are also models of resistance and success. A notable example is the University of Hyderabad (HCU) land dispute⁵, where sustained efforts by students, faculty, and environmental groups protected nearly 400 acres of ecologically sensitive land from development. Despite strong institutional and commercial pressures, the coalition emphasized the area’s biodiversity, groundwater value, and cultural importance, ultimately leading to its preservation. The HCU case demonstrates that timely awareness, legal intervention, and community solidarity can successfully defend urban ecological commons.

Muthanallur Amanikere does not have to follow the tragic arc of Bellandur. Instead, it offers an opportunity to draw from successful conservation precedents and build a new template for balancing development with environmental responsibility.

The first and most urgent step is formal recognition. Inclusion of this wetland in Karnataka’s ecological inventories or national databases under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 would provide a regulatory foundation for protection. Such recognition could also create a framework for community-led restoration, hydrological monitoring, and ecologically informed land-use planning.

Equally important is the role of research. Interdisciplinary studies that integrate ecology, hydrology, social science, and spatial planning are necessary to understand how these landscapes function — and what is lost when they are erased. In a region where over 80% of wetlands have already disappeared, protecting the few that remain is not simply an act of environmentalism, but a commitment to long-term resilience, climate adaptation, and ecological justice.

Conclusion: Protecting What Remains

The story of Muthanallur Amanikere is not just about a single wetland — it is about how we choose to respond to environmental loss in the face of rapid urban change. In the context of Anekal’s expanding industrial footprint, protecting this wetland is no longer optional. It is essential.

In response to these mounting threats, our team has initiated efforts to secure official notification of the Muthanallur–Bidaraguppe wetland under India’s Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. This process includes GIS-based mapping, documentation of the wetland’s zone of influence, and field surveys cataloguing its biodiversity and hydrological functions. The zone of influence refers to the surrounding landscape that significantly impacts — and is impacted by — the wetland’s ecological processes. It includes areas that contribute runoff, affect groundwater recharge, or experience ecological spillovers, and is delineated in our GIS map shown above to support more informed conservation planning.

The Muthanallur Amanikere wetland holds immense ecological, hydrological, and socio-economic significance, making its conservation a matter of urgent public and environmental interest. It supports a rich diversity of birds and other fauna, serves as a critical source of irrigation for surrounding farmlands, and plays a key role in recharging groundwater for nearby communities. Its ecological functions align with the Ramsar Convention’s criteria for wetlands of international importance — particularly in terms of biodiversity support and water regulation. The 2017 Wetlands Rules provide a legal foundation for safeguarding the wetland against threats such as encroachment, pollution, and unregulated land-use change. In addition, the 2019 National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) Guidelines highlight the importance of integrated wetland management through stakeholder engagement, hydrological assessments, and restoration planning — all of which are directly applicable to the Muthanallur Amanikere context. Protecting this landscape is therefore not only a local priority, but also a meaningful step toward fulfilling national and international commitments to wetland conservation.

Importantly, this notification is more than an administrative procedure — it is a critical intervention point. It offers an opportunity to rethink how development unfolds in Anekal. By formally recognising and protecting this wetland, we not only preserve a functioning ecological system, but also set a precedent for integrating environmental stewardship into urban planning.

As part of this ongoing effort, we have formally submitted an application to the Karnataka State Wetland Authority, requesting official notification of Muthanallur Amanikere under the Wetlands Rules. This blog post is one component of that broader initiative — aimed at sharing our findings, raising public awareness, and building support for the protection of this vital ecological commons.

As we continue this work, we recognise that collaborative action is vital. We invite researchers, ecologists, policy practitioners, and concerned citizens to review our findings, share their knowledge, and lend their support. The decisions we make today will determine whether this landscape continues to sustain life — or becomes yet another cautionary tale in the city’s ecological history.

We thank Shashank Palur, Priyanshu Khound (WELL Labs) and A. Sridhar (Wetlands International) for providing valuable inputs for our study. 

References and Reading Material:

1. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=12.831621623989488&nelng=77.76909984130859&subview=map&swlat=12.804659664703784&swlng=77.72500596242675 ↩︎
2. https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2025/Jan/27/smooth-coated-otter-spotted-at-anekal-lake-in-bengaluru ↩︎
3. https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2612113 ↩︎
4. http://www.uddkar.gov.in/sites/uddkar.gov.in/files/pdfs/anekal-maps_0.pdf ↩︎
5. https://thewire.in/environment/decoding-the-land-fiasco-behind-controversial-deforestation-and-protest-at-hyderabad-university ↩︎

• iNaturalist Fauna Data
• https://ebird.org/hotspots
• https://cuesonline.org/programmes/wetlands/dheerpur-wetland-park/