The inter-connectedness of wetland biodiversity and ecosystem services with developmental planning within their basins and coastal zones, call for adoption of interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral management approaches.
A key impediment for integrated management of wetlands in the region is lack of effective capacity within the state governments and wetland managers to design and implement management plans based on comprehensive evaluation of wetland features and their governing factors. Equally glaring is the absence of capacity to monitor wetlands systematically so as to assess the effectiveness of management efforts being applied, and suitably adapt management to address emerging risks.
Developing capacity of wetlands managers is a key thrust area for Wetlands International South Asia. We have partnered with state governments and capacity development institutions to deliver tailor-made courses for wetland managers, policy planners and decision makers. We also work with CSO networks to support the integration of wetlands restoration within developmental and humanitarian programmes, such as disaster risk reduction and WASH.