Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
MoS (MoEFCC), Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh inaugurates the ‘Regional Workshop on Conservation and Wise Use of Wetlands’ at Ayodhya, under the Sahbhagita Mission for States of North India
On World Wetlands Day 2025, a national-level programme to be held at the Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary in Gonda, UP tomorrow
Posted On:
01 FEB 2025 9:28PM by PIB Delhi
In the run up to the celebration of World Wetlands Day 2025 on 2nd February, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Forest, Environment, and Climate Change, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh presided over the Regional Workshop on Conservation and Wise Use of Wetlands, held in Ayodhya today. The workshop, under the Sahbhagita Mission for States of North India, witnessed the presence of PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Anuradha Vemuri; JS (MoEFCC), Shri Rajat Agarwal; and Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh State Wetland Authority, Shri Neeraj Kumar, along with senior officers from nine States/UTs of North India, Ramsar Site Managers and representatives of various institutions.
Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, informed that India now has 89 wetlands of international importance (Ramsar Sites), with four new sites added on Friday. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, unprecedented decisions have been made for the conservation and enhancement of wetlands, with a strong focus on their preservation of ecosystem. The Minister also informed that on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, Government of India organizes various national and state-level programmes across the country every year to raise awareness on wetland conservation. This year, the honour goes to the Ramsar site ‘Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary’ in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh. In this context, the workshop for North India, covering nine states, was held in Ayodhya today, he added.
MoS Shri Singh further informed that the Ministry initiated ‘Mission Sahbhagita’ in 2022, focusing on mainstreaming wetland conservation in development planning and ensuring sustainable development. India’s wetland conservation approach, through this Mission, focuses on stakeholder involvement and integrating wetland conservation into development programmes. Uttar Pradesh is home to 1,33,434 wetlands, covering 5.16% of the State’s total geographical area. The state has ten Ramsar Sites, including the first Ramsar Site ‘Upper Ganga River’ to the latest ‘Haiderpur Wetland’. UP has the second-largest number of Ramsar Sites after Tamil Nadu. Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary is one of the largest wetlands in the natural floodplain area, providing shelter to over a lakh birds. This wetland is rich in vegetation and biodiversity. Under MoEFCC’s National Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation Plan, 13 wetlands are being conserved in UP. The State Wetland Management Committee of Uttar Pradesh has instructed relevant departments to identify and protect important wetlands at the district level, it was informed.
On 2nd February, with the cooperation of the Uttar Pradesh government, a national-level programme will be held at the Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary where Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath will be the chief guest. On this occasion, the UP government will hand over the Integrated Management Plan for Parvati Arga Wetland to the MoEFCC. A nationwide awareness campaign on wetland conservation has been running for the last month, led by the National Museum of Natural History, with over 2,000 school and college students participating in painting, street plays, and quiz competitions. An awareness programme of a similar scale was also held in Gonda. During the workshop, Ramsar Site Managers from five States and four Union Territories of India - Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh - shared their experiences and thoughts. On the occasion, MoS Shri Singh also released a booklet and launched a poster on ‘Seven Steps for Wetland and Pond Conservation’.
The workshop commenced with the lighting of a lamp by the MoS (MoEFCC). The guests were welcomed by presenting them with Rudraksha plants. Dr. M. Ramesh, Scientist (F), (MoEFCC), welcomed the attendees of the workshop and briefed them about the objectives of the workshop and the upcoming February 2 event at Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary. Following this, Joint Secretary Shri Rajat Agarwal elaborated the importance of wetlands conservation and sustainable use, discussing the various plant and animal species found in wetlands. Following this, Ms. Anuradha Vemuri, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Uttar Pradesh, provided a comprehensive discussion on wetlands conservation and development.
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