Two-day State level stakeholders’ meeting organised

Shimla,Feb 27 – A two-day State level stakeholders’ meeting was conducted by Wetlands International South Asia and Bombay Natural History Society starting 27th February, 2023 at La Ri Sa Resort, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The meeting was conducted under the project “CONSERVATION AND WISE USE OF FIVE WETLANDS IN THREE HIMALAYAN STATES TO SECURE HABITATS OF BIRDS MIGRATING WITHIN THE CENTRAL ASIAN FLYWAY funded by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change under National Mission for Himalayan Studies (NMHS). The meeting was attended by nearly 40 representatives from 19 state government departments, regional knowledge institutions, civil society organisations and community-based organizations.

On the first day, Rahul Khot, Deputy Director BNHS, welcomed all the stake holders and explained the importance of the Central Asian Flyway. Shri Sat Pal Dhiman, Joint Member Secretory HIMCOSTE delivered the special address and highlighted Government of Himachal Pradesh’s efforts towards conservation of the wetlands in the state. Dr Anil Thakur IFS, APCCF (Wildlife) HPFD delivered the keynote address and highlighted the importance Pong Dam Lake for the Bar-headed geese migration besides stressing on the need for the formulation of integrated management plans for Pong Dam Lake and Gobind Sagar Lake. Shri Dhruv Verma, Senior Technical officer, Wetlands International South Asia shared the project overview and explained the objectives of this meeting
Two round table discussions were held during day one. The topic for the first roundtable dealt with bridging science-policy action divide to support integrated management chaired by Shri Sat Pal Dhiman, Joint Member Secretory HIMCOSTE, moderated by Dr. Sathiya Selvam, Deputy Director Wetland and flyways programme BNHS and the second dealt with building cross-sectoral convergence for conservation of important state wetland chaired by Dr Anil Thakur IFS, APCCF (Wildlife) HPFD and moderated by Shri Arghya Chakrabarty, Technical Officer of the Wetlands International South Asia. Shri Ravi Sharma, Scientific Officer, HP State Wetland Authority, highlighted wetland authorities’ work on management mechanism and objectives of wetland authority. He also discussed major challenges faced by the wetlands of Himachal Pradesh. Dr Anil Thakur Associate Professor GWC explained the local diversity of plants and use of technological database for plant identification. Dr Subrat Debta, Scientist A BNHS shared the information on bird migration studies in India.
This meeting will develop strategies and recommendations that can guide policy and decision-making at various levels, from local to national, to ensure the effective conservation and wise use of wetlands in the Central Asian Flyway. It is also aimed to foster partnerships and collaborations among stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organizations, private sector, and local communities, to ensure a coordinated and effective approach to wetland conservation in the state of Himachal Pradesh.