On the Frontline of Conservation: Wetlands Management Workshops for Field Staff of the Wildlife and Forest Departments
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Capacity development
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Community resilience
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Wetland values, status and trends
Wetlands International South Asia, in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, Leh, of the UT of Ladakh, organised a two-day training programme on wetland conservation and management. The objective of the training workshop was to equip the field staff of the wildlife and forest departments with practical knowledge, technical skills, and tools necessary to monitor, manage, and conserve wetlands effectively.
Mr. Mandeep Mittal, the Wildlife Warden of the Department of Wildlife Protection, Leh, in his keynote stressed the need to strengthen the capacities of ground staff who play a critical role in implementing conservation measures. He specifically highlighted the importance of notifying wetlands under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, and ensuring regular health monitoring of these ecosystems.
The workshop included technical sessions led by Mr. Arif Ahmad, Mr. Dhruv Verma, and Ms. Suchita Awasthi. The sessions covered a wide range of topics, including the extent of wetlands in Ladakh, the regulatory and programmatic framework for wetlands conservation in India, and ground-truthing and delineating wetlands. The workshop was organised under the MoEFCC-UN Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility-funded Integrated Management of Wetlands Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services project.
The participants were also engaged in hands-on exercises on the development of brief documents and health cards, and delineation of wetlands. A field visit to the Gupuk wetland provided an opportunity for participants to apply their learning in real-time, conducting wetland delineation and ground-truthing exercises on-site.
Wetland delineation and ground-truthing exercises
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