Welcome to the site of Wetlands International South-Asia

In the Mahandi Delta, Orissa, India, we word to reduce flood risks by managing and  restoring wetlands, as areas were excsessive water can be stored.

This project focusses on the mainstreaming of sustainable wetland management principles and practice into the development of poverty reduction strategies through local and international partnerships in DAC1 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It will do this by enhancing of existing and supporting development of new policies at local, national and international levels, with specific inclusion of the water and health sectors and by ensuring due attention to the need for equitable development.

This project focuses on Wular Lake, one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia. Rapid degradation of Wular Lake has an enormous impact on community health and livelihoods. This prompted the state government to contract Wetlands International and her partners (WISA) to develop an integrated management plan for restoration of the lake and its catchment.

WISA (Wetlands International South Asia) and UNICEF-India worked on a two month desk study to review and map available information in relationship to water bird concentrations and poultry productions, with an objective of prioritizing regions for Avian Influenza awareness raising activities under current programes of UNICEF and Ministry of Agriculture.

The project aimed at valuing the ecosystem services of Chilika Lake to assess their contribution to local and regional economy; assess impacts of developmental activities on these services. Proposed are a review of current management plans, alternate strategies to ensure sustained provisioning for overall livelihood security of the wetland dependant communities.