Development of a comprehensive framework for wetland ecosystem assessment and management

• A comprehensive framework for wetland ecosystem assessment and management has been developed. • Land-use changes significantly impacted wetland EH, ES and ER. • 30% of the area shows very low ES, with 8% exhibiting very high ES. • 12% of the EKW falls in a high-risk zone for low ER, with frequent land-use changes. • The findings are crucial for informed decision-making and sustainable management of wetland ecosystems. This study focuses on the assessment of ecosystem health (EH), ecosystem services (ES), and ecosystem risk (ER) within East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). The EH assessment utilized biotic and abiotic indicators such as water quality, vegetation diversity, and species presence, with advanced tools like remote sensing and Geographical information systems (GIS) enhancing the evaluation process. The study reveals that 6.86 % of EKW falls under a very low EH zone, while 20 % is categorized as having very high EH. Spatiotemporal analysis of ES indicates that 30 % of the area has very low ES value, with only 8 % exhibiting very high ES. The study also assesses ecosystem structure and fragmentation using landscape metrics calculated via Fragstats, which shows a significant influence of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on the wetland’s ecological integrity. ER assessment reveals that 7 % of the study area is highly resilient, while 12 % falls within a high-risk zone, reflecting frequent LULC changes. The correlation analysis highlights strong negative relationships between landscape deviation degree (LDD) and EH (−0.971), and between normalized difference water index (NDWI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (−0.991). Additionally, landscape metrics such as the number of patches (NP) and the largest patch index (LPI) exhibit significant correlations, emphasizing the impact of fragmentation on ecosystem health and resilience. This comprehensive assessment underscores the importance of integrated approaches to monitor and manage wetland ecosystems, particularly in urban areas facing significant environmental stressors. The findings are crucial for informed decision-making and sustainable management of the wetland ecosystems, particularly in the cities of the global south.