Khandu concerned over declining wetlands

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday expressed concern over decreasing area of wetlands of the state in the last ten years and stressed on the need for conservation of water resources through a comprehensive policy.
Khandu, who chaired the second State Wetland Authority (SWA) meeting here, urged the environment and forest department’s officials to work on conservation and management of wetlands and had directed them to conduct survey and map of all water bodies in the state.
“Once water bodies are identified and mapped, we can notify these and work on conservation and management through the centrally sponsored scheme of National Wetlands Conservation Programme,” Khandu said.
According to a report of Forest Survey of India, during 2017 the Northeastern state has witnessed a decrease of 195 sq km in the water body coverage within forest as compared to 2005.
The underlying cause for receding water resources within forest coverage has been attributed to degradation of catchment areas of many rivers and water bodies due to Jhum cultivation, known as the slash-and-burn agriculture, landslides, encroachment, deforestation, and other developmental activities.
During the meeting, Khandu asked officials to take help from the centre which has already been working in geo- tagging and mapping of state’s geographical features and assets.
For research and documentation of the wetlands, the chief minister said that universities and research institutes can be roped in by the department. (PTI)