Managing wetlands is an interdisciplinary endeavour. It requires an understanding of how wetlands evolve and function, how human societies interact with and benefit from them, and how they relate to broader development plans and programmes. 

South Asia faces a critical capacity gap in managing wetlands in an integrated manner, one that accounts for the worldviews and values of diverse stakeholder groups, interdependencies across sectors, and planning at multiple scales. In most cases, terrestrial management planning processes, such as protected-area guidelines, are applied to wetlands. These fail to address basin- and coastal-zone-scale interactions, or the central role communities play in sustaining these ecosystems.

Wetlands International South Asia promotes a diagnostic approach to wetlands management: a systematic evaluation of a wetland’s features and governing factors to assess risks of adverse change, and the capacity of institutions to address them. We champion landscape-scale management interventions to ensure biodiversity and ecosystem service values are maintained now and into the future. We nurture institutions capable of integrated, adaptive management, and continually work to bring technology, tools, and innovative practice into how management is implemented. A core part of the work also includes developing the capacity of wetland professionals and practitioners through targeted training modules and programmes.

Our Impact

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• National Wetlands Trend Index for India
• Guidelines for implementing the National Wetlands Regulatory Framework
• Guidelines on Integrated Management Planning of wetlands
• Guidebook on management of Himalayan wetlands
• Tool for management effectiveness evaluation of Indian wetlands
• Framework for implementing wetland-wise use of wetlands in Indian context
• Co-designed standard operating procedures for Mission Sahbhagita, a national blueprint for participatory wetlands management
• Developed implementation strategy for Amrit Dharohar, MoEFCC’s initiative for conserving the unique values of Ramsar Sites
• Developed a national wetlands health card system with MoEFCC and knowledge partners

• Developed IMPs for 25 Ramsar Sites, enabling the systematic application of human and financial resources for conservation and wise use
• Improved conditions in Loktak Lake, Chilika Lake and Wular Lake through scientific interventions