Lok Sabha Question No. 4111 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-28
Subject: Survey and Assessment of Wetlands
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4111

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2022

## Survey and Assessment of Wetlands

## 4111.   SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has been conducting regular surveys and assessment of areas classified as wetlands in the country;
- (b) if so, the total area declared as wetlands in the country since 1981;
- (c) the details of area newly added as wetlands in the country at the beginning of every five years starting from 1981;
- (d)
- the total area classified as Ramsar sites in the country since 1981;
- (e) whether  there  has  been  considerable  reduction  in  area  of  existing  wetlands  due  to urbanisation and encroachments over the past few decades;
- (f) whether the Government has noticed any change/reduction in migratory bird species due to this, if so, the actions taken thereto; and
- (g) the details and achievements of the National Wetlands Conservation Programme and National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems for rejuvenation of wetlands?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (c) Yes, Sir. As per the 'Space based Observation of Indian Wetlands', 2021 by Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, a total of 2,31,195 wetlands (> 2.25 ha) have been mapped at 1:50 ,000 scale during 2017-18. The total wetland area estimated is 15.98 million hectares, which is around 4.86 percent of the total geographic area of the country and 0.64 Mha more compared to earlier estimates of 2006-07.

(d) India  became  a  signatory  to  the  Ramsar  Convention  on  01.02.1982  and  so  far,  49 wetlands in the country have been designated as Ramsar sites with a total area of 10,93,636 hectares.

(e) & (f) While the Central and State Governments take all possible steps for the preservation, conservation and restoration of wetlands, developmental activities and anthropogenic pressures do affect wetlands. Although, no specific data is available w.r.t change/reduction in migratory  bird  species  due to  adverse impact  on  wetlands,  changes  in  migratory  pattern  of birds cannot be ruled out due to both natural and human induced factors. As a signatory to the Convention  on  the  Conservation  of  Migratory  Species  (CMS)  of  Wild  Animals,  India  has been making efforts to mitigate the changes in the habitat that impact birds.

- (g)  The  salient  details  and  achievements  of  National  Programme  for  Conservation  of Wetlands are as follows:
-  National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) scheme for conservation and management of wetlands in the country on cost sharing basis between Central Government and respective State Governments i.e. 100% Central Share for Union Territories  (UTs),  90%  (Centre)  &10%  (North  East&  Himalayan  States)  and  60% (Centre)  &40%  (remaining  States).  The  scheme  covers  various  activities  such  as interception,  diversion  and  treatment  of  wastewater,  shoreline  protection,  lake  front development,  in-situ  cleaning  i.e.  desilting  &  deweeding,  storm  water  management, bioremediation,  catchment  area  treatment,  Lake  Beautification,  survey  &  demarcation, bio-fencing,  fisheries  development,  weed  control,  biodiversity  conservation,  education and awareness creation, community participation, etc.
-  As  a  signatory  to  the Ramsar  Convention  on  Wetlands since  01.02.1982,  India  has designated 49 Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). India stands first in South Asia and third in Asia w.r.t the number of Ramsar Sites.
-  Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 -  Vide these Rules, inter-alia, the  State/UT  Wetlands  Authorities  have  been  constituted.  The  National  Wetlands Committee  inter-alia  is  responsible  for  advising  on  appropriate  policies  and  action programmes for conservation and wise use of wetlands. Guidelines have been issued to support the State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations in the implementation of the Rules.
-  Four pronged Wetlands Rejuvenation Programme by a) Developing baseline information;  b)  Rapid  assessment  of  wetlands  condition  (Wetland  Health  Cards);  c) Constitution  of  'Wetlands  Mitras'  -  stakeholder  platforms  to  enable  collaborative  and participatory management;  and d) Management  planning, addressing the specific wetlands biodiversity and ecosystem services values and threats. Till date, more than 500 wetland health cards have been prepared and more than 10,000 people took the pledge of wetland mitra.
-  Capacity Building and Outreach programme -  National  and  Regional  workshops  for Wetlands Managers & Stakeholders are organised on conservation and management of wetlands,  preparation  of  Brief  Documents  etc.  World  Wetlands  Day  is  celebrated  at National  level  on  2 nd February  of  each  year  in  collaboration  with  the  concerned  State Governments  to  raise  awareness  among  all  sections  of  the  society  about  values  and functions of wetlands and utilization of their resources.
-  An online portal ( https://indianwetlands.in/ ) for Wetlands of India has been developed to facilitate knowledge sharing, host capacity development material, and provide a singlepoint access data repository.

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