31st January 2023– (above picture courtsey google images)
World Wetland Day will be celebrated at Goa’s first and only Ramsar site, Nanda Lake in Curchorem. The event is being organised by Goa’s environment ministry and the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) in association with the Union environment ministry. “Goa CM Pramod Sawant and water resources minister Subhash Shirodkar will also be present. Prior to the celebrations, a regional level workshop on conservation and management of wetlands will be held,” said environment minister Nilesh Cabral.
The national ‘Save Wetlands’ campaign will be launched from Goa by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, on February 4. The event is being organised to mark the World Wetland Day, which is celebrated internationally on February 2. Managers of all 75 Ramsar sites across India will attend the event. They will also attend a day-long session on February 3 in Goa on conservation of wetlands through community participation. “The ‘Save Wetlands’ campaign will be held at Ravindra Bhavan, Curchorem. Prior to this, the regional-level workshop under Sahbhagita Mission will be held on February 3. This will also be the launch of the Sahbhagita Mission in Goa, which is to encourage community participation in conservation of wetlands,” said Cabral.
The event will help in the training and capacity building of 75 managers of Ramsar designated wetlands across 23 states in the country and will also encourage community participation in the conservation of wetlands, said Cabral.
The name Ramsar comes from the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, to which India is a contracting party. Union minister for state for environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey will also be present. Goa got its first Ramsar site in August last year. Designation as a Ramsar site means that the Nanda Lake is on the global map for its importance in providing ecological services. With an area of 42 hectares, it is one of Goa’s largest wetlands.
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