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Interview: Centre plans to identify, conserve more wetlands, says Union minister

ByJayashree Nandi
Feb 01, 2024 06:02 AM IST

The central government is asking states to notify and recognise more small and large wetlands, and involved local people and communities in their management

New Delhi: The number of India’s Ramsar sites has increased to 80 and the Centre is asking states to notify and recognise more small and large wetlands, and involve local people and communities in their management, union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav said in an interview with HTahead of World Wetland Day on February 2. He added that the Centre has given states a year to consolidate all government records that identify forests as per the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act . Edited excerpts:

The number of India’s Ramsar sites has increased to 80, says Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. (PTI) PREMIUM
The number of India’s Ramsar sites has increased to 80, says Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. (PTI)

Most of the wetlands in India that are not Ramsar sites are not notified. They are at risk of disappearing due to changes in land use . How do you plan to protect them?

Wetlands are among the world’s most economically valuable ecosystems and regulators of the global climate, and therefore the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi accords high significance to wetlands conservation. The seriousness was reflected in Budget 2023 where the Amrit Dharohar scheme envisioned by PM Modi was set into motion.

Our Ramsar Site network added five new sites on January 31 with Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu; Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve, Karnataka; Longwood Shola Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu; Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve, Karnataka; and Aghanashini Estuary, Karnataka being the latest. This has taken the Ramsar Site tally from 75 to 80.

There has been considerable progress made by several states towards preparatory steps required for notification of wetlands, and we are confident that they will come forward with notifying more and more wetlands.

Our focus at the Ministry has been to strengthen the institutions responsible for regulation - that is the state and UT wetland authorities. Several states are also establishing wetlands authorities at the district level so that enforcement of regulation is taken to the last mile.

We are also working towards making wetlands conservation a citizen’s movement .

Under the Save Wetlands Campaign launched on World Wetlands Day 2023, about 69,000 wetlands have been ground-truthed and health cards of more than 5,000 wetlands , prepared.

How are our recently declared Ramsar sites performing? Do you plan to declare more Ramsar sites?

Under the aegis of Amrit Dharohar, we are supporting the concerned wetland management agencies in putting in place integrated management plans, which will address local threats to these ecosystems, if any. Through investment into opportunities such as nature tourism, local communities will be incentivised. MoEFCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism is imparting trainings across the Ramsar Sites of the country for the local communities to certify them as Nature-guides.

The ministry also aime to bring Ramsar sites under a systematic management evaluation system, on the lines of protected areas which will enable wetlands managers to self-evaluate their performance, and make necessary mid-course corrections.

The environment ministry has asked state governments to prepare a consolidated report of forest land as available in government records or are notified as forest under law to delineate areas on which the Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023 will apply. Will this mean we have one year to identify more unrecorded deemed forests?

The one-year period provided in the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 is for consolidation of government records, not for providing relief from the purview of the Act.

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 has been enacted with a view to augment and strengthen forest management, remove ambiguity in the applicability of the provisions of the Principal Act in various lands, promote plantation in private lands, achieve the targets envisaged in the National Forest Policy, 1988 and to align with dynamic changes in the ecological, social and environmental regimes during the last four decades, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 has been enacted by the Central Government on 1.12.2023.

The Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 were accordingly notified by the Central Government on 29.11.2023 wherein all states and Union territory administrations have been instructed to prepare, within a period of one year, a consolidated government records of all lands on which the provisions of Amendment Act shall be applicable. These provisions imply that states have been provided opportunity to consolidate their records for the purpose of applicability of the Act without excluding forest like areas from the purview of the Act.

Last year the biological diversity act was passed by the Parliament. How is the act helping simplify processes and encouraging Ayush industries?

The definition of a foreign company has been aligned with the definition of the Companies Act, 2013, to reduce the compliance burden of the companies. The Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) compliance burden on industries that are using cultivated biological resources have been removed. This has reduced the pressure on usage of wild medicinal plant species and will enhance the income of farmers cultivating medicinal plants and other bio resources.

By exempting “Codified Traditional Knowledge”, as per the texts mentioned in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 from the purview of the Biological Diversity Act, the act now paves way for tremendous growth of AYUSH industries.

The process for patent application for Indians has been fast tracked by way of registration without compromising the national interests and other international agreements where India is a party.

Once the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 comes into force from 1st April 2024, it would further aid in meeting national interests as well as providing a sustainable environment for the research and entrepreneurship. At the same time, it would ensure that tribes and rural communities benefit from the proceeds of the commercial utilization of medicinal plants and other bio-resources.

The wildlife protection amendment act makes India CITES compliant. You have also notified the Breeders of Species Licence Rules, 2023. Which exotic species are being bred domestically and how is it aiding conservation of these species?

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2022. Through this amendment, the provisions of CITES have been included in the Act. The Species listed in the three Appendices, viz, Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III have now been included in Schedule IV of the Act.

Section 49-N provides that person engaged in breeding of an animal species or artificial propagation of a plant species listed in Appendix I of Schedule IV is required to obtain a licence from the Chief Wild Life Warden of the concerned State. The Government of India has notified the Breeders of Species Licence Rules, 2023 vide Gazette Notification dated 24th April 2023.

Appendix I species are considered to be species that are highly threatened and require high degree of regulation for international trade. A licence for breeding of Appendix I species would help in regulating the trade and controlling the illegal trade of such highly endangered species and also ensure the welfare of these animals. This would also ensure to build up a database on the Appendix I listed exotic species that are being traded within and from India legally.

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