35% wetlands lost in past 50 years: Expert

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Solan, February 2

The High Altitude Western Himalayan Regional Centre of Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Solan in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni celebrated the World Wetlands Day today.

Dr Kumar Ambrish, incharge, BSI Solan, while speaking on the theme It’s Time for Wetland Restoration’, pointed out that wetland ecosystems were deteriorating at a fast pace. Around 35 per cent of natural wetlands have been lost in the past 50 years. The youth must create awareness about the importance of wetlands and their restoration to conserve these valuable ecosystems.

Dr Satish Kumar Bhardwaj, Professor and Head, Department of Environmental Science, Nauni varsity, advocated the need to create eco-literacy to conserve this important ecosystem and generate action at the local level. He pointed out that wetlands exist in every corner of the planet and are arteries and veins of the landscape.

“Wetlands support critical ecosystems and biodiversity. Nearly 90 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been degraded or lost. We are losing wetlands three times faster than the forest. So there is an urgent need to raise global awareness of wetlands to arrest and reverse their loss and degradation.”

“In our state, the conservation of wetlands can be an excellent source of livelihood by promoting ecotourism and the government has taken a good initiative in this direction,” he said.

An essay-writing competition was organised for the students to raise awareness for wetland conservation. Bhavya Thapa, PhD 2nd year student, bagged the first prize in essay writing competition, while Muskaan Negi, PhD 3rd Year, Priyanka Balan, PhD 2nd year and Jalaj Pandit, MSc 1st year student, were awarded with second, third and consolation prizes, respectively.

The participants took a pledge to spread awareness about wetlands and work collectively for conservation and restoration of wetlands. Around 30 participants including staff of BSI, faculty, students of the Department of Environmental Science and members of SPACE club participated in the event.