Minister of State for Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Babul Supriyo announced the establishment of India’s 1st Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is being set up as a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) Institute, a research institute under MoEFCC.
- CWCM will address research needs & knowledge gaps and will assist the Government in taking steps for conservation, restoration and management of India’s wetlands.
- It was launched on occasion of the World Wetland Day observed on February 2, 2021.
i.Functions of the CWCM:
- To Assist Government for building partnership and networks with national and international agencies for conservation of Wetlands
- To act as a knowledge hub & as a platform for knowledge exchange between State/UT Wetland Authorities, wetland users, managers, researchers, policy-makers & practitioners.
- CWCM will help national, state & UT Governments in designing & implementing policies and regulatory frameworks, management planning, monitoring & targeted research for its conservation.
ii.Wetlands in India:
- Wetlands occupy 4.6% of Total Land area in India and cover an area of 15.26 Million Hectares
- At Present, 42 sites in India (Highest in South Asia) have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) covering an area of 1.08 Million hectares.
iii.During the meeting, Babul Supriyo released publications related to Faunal Diversity of all the Ramsar sites in India & Brochure on Designation of Ramsar Sites.
- The publications were prepared by the Zoological Survey of India & Wetland Division, MoEFCC.
Faunal Diversity in Ramsar Wetlands of India
Namami Gange & Wetland Conservation:
On Occasion of World Wetlands Day, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) launched community-based programmes to raise awareness about conservation and rejuvenation of 10 wetlands in around 50 districts along River Ganga.
- NMCG is the 1st of its kind program where Wetland Conservation has been integrated with Basin Management Plan.
- ‘Urban wetlands/water body management guideline – a toolkit for local stakeholders’ was released at the event. ‘Framework for Ecological Monitoring of Ramsar Sites and Other Wetlands in India’ was also released.
Recent Related News:
i.On December 24, 2020, Union Minister for MoEFCC, Prakash Javadekar announced that Tso Kar Wetland complex in Changthang region, Ladakh has been added to the list of Ramsar Sites making it India’s 42nd site & UT Ladakh’s 2nd Ramsar Site.
About Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC):
Union Minister – Prakash Javadekar (Member of Rajya Sabha, elected from Maharashtra)
Minister of State – Babul Supriyo (Member of Lok Sabha elected from Asansol, West Bengal)
