Team Herald
PANJIM: As proposed in the Wetlands (conservation and management) Rules, 2017, the Goa government has constituted State Wetland Authority under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
As per the Rule notified in September, the State Authority has to prepare a list of all wetlands within the next three months and submit the same before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) within six months from now. Once submitted, the MoEF will notify the rules.
Wetland Authority has also to prepare a comprehensive digital inventory of all wetlands within a period of one year. The inventory has to be prepared every ten years.
The Authority has to develop a list of activities to be regulated and permitted within the notified wetlands and their zones of influence. It has to define strategies for conservation and wise use of wetlands.
It has to review integrated management plan for each of the notified wetlands, and within this plan consider continuation and support to traditional uses of wetlands which are harmonized with ecological character.
As per the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment released by MoEF in 2011-12, Goa has 383 wetland areas with rivers and streams leading the chart. Nearly 44 percent of wetland area is covered by rivers or streams.
In its State Budget 2017-18, Parrikar has proposed to draft a policy for preservation, protection, conservation and development of wetlands in Goa.
