Question : National Wetlands Conservation Programme

(a) the salient features of National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP);
(b) the details of financial assistance provided to the States/Union Territories under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme for conservation and management of identified wetlands in the country during the last three years and the current year;
(c) the details of financial assistance provided to the States/Union Territories under ‘National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems’ (NPCA);
(d) whether under the National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) programme, the ISRO has carried out National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite if so, the details thereof along with the wetland sites identified, State/UT-wise;
(e)whether the Government has created any data registry regarding the number of wetlands in the country; and
(f) if so, the details thereof, district-wise and State/ UT-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a) to (c) The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had been earlier implementing two separate programmes namely, National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP) and National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) for conservation of identified wetlands and lakes in the country. Under these Centrally Sponsored Schemes, financial assistance was provided to different States/Union Territories (UTs) for conservation and management of identified wetlands and lakes in the country.

To have better synergy and to avoid overlap, the NWCP has been merged in February, 2013 with NLCP into a new integrated scheme of ‘National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems’ (NPCA) for holistic conservation of wetlands (includes lakes), which is operational on cost sharing basis between the Central and State Governments. NPCA aims at holistic conservation and restoration of wetlands for achieving the desired water quality enhancement, besides improvement in biodiversity and ecosystems through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach and a common regulatory framework. The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, lake front development, in-situ cleaning i.e. de-silting & de-weeding, 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.

The details of financial assistance provided to the States/UTs under NPCA for conservation and management of wetlands in the country during the last three years and the current year are annexed.

(d) Yes, Sir. The National level wetland inventory was carried out through Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad of ISRO using multi-date IRS-LISS-III Data of 2006-07 timeframe on 1:50,000 scale under project “National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA)”. The mapping was carried out in collaboration with State Remote Sensing Applications Centres and Academic Institutes.

Total wetland area estimated is15.260 million hectares, which is around 4.63 per cent of the geographic area of the country. Total 2,01,503 wetland shave been mapped at 1:50,000 scale. In addition,5,55,557 small wetlands (<2.25 ha) have also been identified. The inventory of wetlands (State-wise/sorted on State code) etc. are available at http://moef.gov.in/division/environment-divisions/wetland/national-wetlands-inventory-assessment/

(e) and (f) Vide the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017, interalia, the State/UT Wetlands Authorities have been constituted and various powers and functions have been delegated to them for conservation and management of wetlands. The functions include preparation of a list and a comprehensive digital inventory of all wetlands of the State or Union Territory.
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