India’s first Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management to be opened in Chennai

The Central government has announced that, it will soon set up a new Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) in Chennai.

Why it will be set up?

This Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management will be set in a bid to address the knowledge gaps and specific research needs for the conservation and management of wetlands.

Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management

• The Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) will be set up by the central government in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• This conservation centre would be a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management. This national centre is an institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• The CWCM will play a significant role to design and implement the regulatory frameworks and policies. It will also help in monitoring, management planning and targeted research in a bid to conserve the wetlands.
• The conservation centre will also act as a knowledge hub.
• It will enable the exchange between the wetland authorities in States or Union Territories, managers, wetland researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and users.
• The centre will further help in building the networks and partnerships with the relevant international and national agencies.

What are wetlands?

Wetland are a distinct ecosystem that are flooded by water. They are flooded either permanently or seasonally. In such ecosystems, oxygen-free processes prevail. Wetlands helps in water purification, water storage, processing of carbon and the stabilization of shorelines. It also provides support to the plants and animals. They are the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems. They occur naturally on every continent and the water in the can be either freshwater, brackish, or saltwater.

Wetlands in India

India has 42 Ramsar sites that have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance. They cover around 4.6% of Indian landmass.

World Wetlands Day

In a bid to conserve the wetlands, February 2 is observed as World Wetlands Day. In the year 2021, the day marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This convention was signed at Ramsar in Iran in the year 1971.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2021