Bihar Government Advances Wetland Conservation Efforts, Pushes for Ramsar Site Declarations  

Patna: A review meeting on wetland conservation and management was held at Sanjay Auditorium in Aranya Bhawan, Patna, under the leadership of Dr. Prem Kumar, Minister for the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bihar. Key officials from the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as well as experts from the forest and wildlife divisions, attended the meeting to discuss ongoing and future initiatives related to wetland conservation in the state.

The meeting focused on the importance of wetlands for biodiversity and the need to conserve critical sites by declaring them as Ramsar sites under the Ramsar Convention. Once designated as Ramsar sites, these wetlands receive financial support for conservation and development at both national and international levels, while also creating livelihood and employment opportunities for nearby communities. Currently, Kambartal wetland, declared as a Ramsar site in 2020, and Nagi and Nakati bird sanctuaries, which received Ramsar status in 2024, are the three wetlands in Bihar with this designation. The state government has also submitted a proposal to declare three additional wetlands, namely Udaipur Lake, Gogabeel, and Gokul Reservoir, as Ramsar sites.

Further progress includes the preparation of a health report card for 216 major wetlands in Bihar, which is being done as per the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. Additionally, 680 ‘wetland friends’ have been created to help conserve these wetlands and raise public awareness. Plans to provide state-level training for these individuals have also been set in motion.

Bihar’s commitment to wetland preservation includes the establishment of a Bihar State Wetland Research and Training Center, and the approval of the Integrated Management Plan for Gokul Reservoir, which is to be developed at a cost of Rs 32.483 crore by 2027-28. The state is also working on a mobile app to facilitate groundtruthing of 4,500 wetlands across Bihar. Dr. Prem Kumar has directed the preparation of a proposal to declare five more important wetlands as Ramsar sites, continuing his tireless efforts to protect these vital ecosystems for future generations.