Uttar Pradesh to notify 50 wetlands across nine districts

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh will notify 50 wetlands under the Wetland Rules of 2017. These wetlands span about 1,000 hectares across nine districts. The decision was taken in the fifth meeting of Uttar Pradesh State Wetland Authority held on Wednesday. Over two lakh metric tons of carbon will be absorbed in these newly notified wetlands.

In other decisions, the authority also approved the management plan prepared for Upper Ganga River, the first Ramsar site of the state with an area of 26,590 hectares and constituting Village Wetland Committees under the chairmanship of pradhans. The committees will work to increase awareness about wetland conservation in more than 58,000 gram panchayats in the state, ensure participation of villagers in their conservation and give them a sense of ownership towards them. Wetland Day will be organised at gram panchayat level as well.

Wetlands play an important role in absorbing the carbon available in the atmosphere and keeping it in this form for a long time. The role of wetlands as a climate change mitigation measure is also important.

According to a report, wetlands are spread over 5% to 8% of total land area of the earth, but 35% of the total 1,500 gigatons of carbon remains absorbed in the soil of wetlands. At least, 81 metric tons to 216 metric tons of carbon per acre is absorbed in wetlands.

The authority also decided to conserve wetlands falling within a limit of 10km on either side of river Ganga. Conserving and Sustainably Managing Gangetic Floodplain Wetlands of Uttar Pradesh scheme funded by the National Mission for Clean Ganga has been implemented in the state. This includes verification of 282 wetlands located within a radius of 10km on both sides of the river. A management plan worth Rs 175.8 crore has been formulated at basin level and wetland level. In the meeting, the plan was approved.

The minister of state for forest, environment and climate change (independent charge), AK Saxena said that one wetland in every assembly constituency of the state should be conserved and converted into a tourist spot with the help of local public representatives.

Manoj Kumar Singh, APC, UP said that development of wetlands in rural areas should be included in the local Gram Panchayat Development Plan.