Lok Sabha Question No. 1655 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-10
Subject: Conservation and Restoration of Wetlands
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Dr. K Sudhakar, Shri Alok Sharma, Smt. Himadri Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1655

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2025

## Conservation and Restoration of Wetlands

1655. SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

DR. K SUDHAKAR:

SMT. HIMADRI SINGH:

SHRI ALOK SHARMA:

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

- (a) the details of specific initiatives taken by the Government to conserve and restore wetlands across the country;
- (b)  whether  any  new  policies  or  legal  frameworks  are  introduced  to  strengthen  wetland protection under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  plan  proposed  by  the  Government  to  raise  awareness  about  wetland conservation among the general public, students and policymakers; and
- (d) the details of the wetlands lost in the State of Karnataka during the last two decades and the details of the steps taken for restoration of wetlands in the State?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to  (b)  MoEF&CC  is  currently  implementing  the  '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. The  scheme  covers  various  activities  such  as  interception,  diversion  and  treatment  of wastewater,  shoreline  protection,  in-situ  cleaning  i.e.,  desilting  &  deweeding,  storm  water management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment, survey & demarcation, bio-fencing, fisheries  development,  weed  control,  biodiversity  conservation,  education  and  awareness creation, community participation, etc.

For  more  effective  conservation  and  management  of  wetlands  in  the  country, MoEF&CC in consultation with the stakeholders, have notified the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017 superseding the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.  Vide  these  Rules,  the  State/Union  Territory  (UT)  Wetland  Authorities  have  been constituted (replacing the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority in 2010 Rules) and powers & functions for notification of wetlands as also for implementation and monitoring of these Rules have been delegated to the State Governments and UT Administrations. The National Wetlands Committee has been constituted to advise the Central Government on conservation of wetlands, monitor implementation of the rules by the States/UTs etc.

India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on wetlands and since 2014, India has added 63  wetlands  as  Ramsar  Sites.  As  on  date,  there  are  89  Ramsar  Sites  in  the  country, covering approximately 1.36 million hectares. To promote the unique conservation values of Ramsar Sites,  MoEF&CC has launched the Amrit Dharohar Initiative in  2023 with its key components as Species and Habitat Conservation, Nature Tourism, Wetlands Livelihoods and Wetlands Carbon Assessment. Further, for the first time, two Indian cities, Indore in Madhya Pradesh  and  Udaipur  in  Rajasthan  were  accredited  as  Wetland  Cities  under  the  Ramsar Convention in 2025.

(c) World  Wetlands  Day  (WWD)  is  celebrated  every  year  across  the  Country  on  2 nd February to generate awareness amongst all sections of the society about values and functions of wetlands and utilization of their resources. In the run up to the WWD, various events are conducted by engaging the wetland mitras, local communities, students as well as Government officials. The activities are based on the theme of the WWD for that particular year and includes wetland cleaning drives, bird census and bird watching sessions, plantation drives, debates, quiz, painting, photography, film making, nukkad natak competitions, exhibitions, seminars, and awareness rallies.

A National Wetlands Portal https://indianwetlands.in/ has been developed as a dynamic knowledge hub on wetlands for use of all wetlands managers and stakeholders. It is a One-stop digital destination for resources & data repository for wetlands. The portal provides a platform for  the  people  of  the  country  to  learn  more  about  wetlands  and  get  involved  in  their conservation and management.

'Mission  Sahbhagita'  was  launched  in  May,  2022  for  people  and  stakeholders' participation in the wetlands conservation and management, which is a milestone step towards participatory conservation and wise use of wetlands to enable a societal ownership approach with communities leading at the forefront. Under this Mission, 'Save Wetlands Campaign' was launched  during  the  WWD  2023  for  spreading  mass  awareness  about  conservation  and management  of  wetlands  in  the  country,  with  target-based  outputs  in  collaboration  with State/UT Wetlands Authorities. Under the campaign, till date, inter-alia, more than 2.1 million people were sensitized and 9,36,989 people have taken pledge as Wetland Mitra or registered as Wetland Mitras. Most of these people are students.

Further,  in  collaboration  with  Central  Institute  of  Educational  Technology  (CIET), NCERT, MoEF&CC has developed a series of educational videos focusing on different level of school students on the importance of wetlands conservation and management. These videos are being circulated through the educational channels of NCERT and the Wetlands of India portal for nation-wide dissemination and sensitisation of school students.

(d) As  per  the  information  provided  by  the  Government  of  Karnataka,  there  is  no designated wetland lost during the last two decades in the State of Karnataka. The Government of Karnataka had notified the State Wetlands Authority and its amendment on 13.03.2018 and 11.07.2022  respectively.  State  Wetland  Authority  Online  Portal  was  launched  in  2024  for collecting the brief document data online through the custodians of the water bodies across the state. Ground truthing & boundary demarcation of wetlands carried out in compliance to the Hon'ble Supreme Court Order. Bruhath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has submitted about 80 brief documents for notifying under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules,  2017.  Karnataka  State  Wetlands  Authority  is  actively  involved  in  Save  Wetlands Campaign.

Further, under the NPCA scheme, MoEF&CC has provided financial assistance (central share)  of  Rs.  43.72  crores  to  the  State  Government  of  Karnataka  for  conservation  and management of 20 wetlands.