Virtual Workshop on Hydro-Ecological Assessments for Integrated Management Planning

28 May, 2020

Adapting to COVID-19 lockdown: Virtual Review Workshops on Wetland Assessments

As a step towards development of integrated management plans for the Ramsar sites, a series of online workshops and stakeholder consultations were organised to understand the present status and future strategies for wetland assessments.

Virtual Workshop on Hydro-Ecological Assessments for Integrated Management Planning at Four Pilot Ramsar sites was organised by the project on 28th May 2020. The Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM) working in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and People's Science Institute (PSI) presented the progress of hydro-geological assessment being carried out in Renuka, Himachal Pradesh, while Integrated Natural Resources Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (INRM) discussed the study on modeling climate and hydrological risks associated with ecosystem functioning of Pong reservoir in Himachal Pradesh. Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS) presented the preliminary findings of hydrological characterisation of Point Calimere, Tamil Nadu. Chilika Development Authority presented the methodology for the recently commenced hydro-ecological assessment at Bhitarkanika in Odisha. The workshop focussed on gaining inputs from the site managers and state wetland authorities to understand their requirements and identifying management strategies. In the present COVID-19 situation, possibilities of carrying out field-based studies through local networks and utilising information from secondary sources were deliberated. It also facilitated exchange of ideas and learnings amongst the assessment agencies.

Such online workshops would continue and subsequently form the basis for establishment of institutional arrangements for integrated management, which is one of the major outcomes of the project.

Bar-headed geese at the Pong Dam lake, Himachal Pradesh ©GIZ/Swarnendu Bose

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About the project

The Wetlands Management for Biodiversity and Climate Protection project aims to strengthen the institutional framework and capacities for an ecosystem-based integrated management of wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites) in India. Four Ramsar sites have been selected as pilot sites under the project: Pong Dam and Renuka Lake in Himachal Pradesh, Bhitarkanika Mangroves in Odisha, and the Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in close cooperation with the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA). This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. Read More

For more information contact: biodiv.india@giz.de