Kerala’s wetland list may be delayed

Vetting of list prepared by Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, likely to take a year

June 19, 2018 11:36 pm | Updated 11:36 pm IST - KOCHI

The identification of wetlands as part of a national programme for their conservation will be delayed in Kerala, though most of the wetlands in the State are facing increased pressure from human intervention.

The Centre had asked the States to send the list of wetlands to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) before December 26, 2017. However, the State has written to the Ministry seeking more time for compiling the list.

Earlier, the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, had drawn up a draft list of 1,762 wetlands in the State. The list needs to be vetted and all the man-made wetlands and paddy fields excluded. The process may take some time, sources said.

The geographical boundaries of the wetlands have to be identified for notification, as suggested by the Ministry. The State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) will form teams of officials drawn from the Revenue and Local Self-Government departments and wetland experts for the purpose. The wetlands can be notified only after completing the ground-truthing exercise. The vetting process is expected to take at least a year, the sources said.

Representatives from the panchayat and district administration will be involved in the ground-truthing and the final notification will be issued by the governing body of SWAK. The process of vetting the list and its ground-truthing will begin this month, they said.

The SWAK meeting has decided to “look into people’s problems/rights near wetlands before taking a final decision.”

Ramsar sites

SWAK has also decided to prepare documentary films on the three Ramsar sites in Kerala — Ashtamudi, Sasthamcotta, Vembanad-Kol — as the agency felt that there was no authentic documents on the sites. Wetlands of international importance are notified as Ramsar sites.

The documentaries, which would be made at an estimated cost of ₹15 lakh, will act as a baseline on the status of these sites. The Wetland International South Asia will bring out books on management action plans for the sites.

It was also decided to put up 52 signboards at a cost of ₹35 lakh in and around the three sites in accordance with the specifications of the Ramsar Convention.

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