Fresh Water Year to be marked, DNPWC to take the lead

By Bishnu Budhathoki

KATHMANDU, Jan. 18: The United Nations has declared 2003 as International Year of Fresh Water, but there seems to be some confusion on who would be taking the lead to observe the year-long function in Nepal.

Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) is marking the International Year of Fresh Water on February 2 along with the World Wetland Day.

“It should be the Ministry of Water Resources, who should be observing the Day,” Laxmi Prasad Manandhar, Conservation Education Officer at the DNPWC, said. When the Ministry remained unconcerned the DNPWC decided to celebrate it with various activities on February 2.

As part of the celebration of World Wetland Day, the DNPWC will organise interaction programme and other extra activities in the capital as well as in the conservation areas. This year’s slogan for the World Wetland Day is ‘No Wetland, No Water’.

The Day aims at creating awareness for the conservation of wetlands and there inhabitants, which are falling into risks of disappearance or even becoming extinct. Considering the real value of eco-system and bio-diversity, such are expected to help protect these sites and there inhabitants.
Wetlands are very important ecosystems for maintaining a balance between the physical and biological factors as well as for bio-diversity. They are also important for socio-cultural and eco-tourism.

In order to preserve wetlands, His Majesty’s Government signed the Ramsar Convention in 1987, aimed at protecting the wetlands, pledging that Nepal would work actively in order to protect and conserve wetlands and the flora, fauna and other rare species found in those sites.

The same year, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Conservation (KTWR) was recognised as Nepal’s first Ramsar site. The designation of KTWR was meant to conserve the ecological character of KTWR through a planned approach, and to promote prudent use of the conservation area.

The KTWR is rich in floral and faunal diversity with 514 species of plants, 21 species of invertebrate, 77 species of butterfly, 200 species of fish, 45 species of lizard (herpetofauna), 461 species of bird and 31 species of mammal.

Besides, there are 10 more wetlands in the Terai area of Nepal. The 16 protected areas in the country include 35 to 40 wetlands that are managed under the national park and wildlife conservation department.

Similarly, 25 river systems and tributaries, 33 lakes, ponds and water mass areas have been identified by the DNPWC as wetland areas.

Manandhar said that the government has recommended for including Bishhazar Tal of Chitwan, Ghodhaghodi Tal of Kailali and Jagadispur Reservoir of Kapilvastu in the list of Ramsar site. But the process has been hampered due to lack of GIS (Geograpical Information Survey) map of those sites.
After the survey is completed, these areas could enlist them as Ramsar sites by the headquarters of Ramsar at Switzerland.

The Ramsar head office aims to recognise 2,000 wetlands around the world as Ramsar sites by 2005.
Until July, 2002, 1,179 sites in 133 countries around the world have been recognised as Ramsar sites.
There are mainly three criteria, provisions and obligations to declare a wetland as Ramsar site: It must be representative of rare or unique wetland in conserving biological diversity; it should support more than 20,000 water birds, endangered species or threatened ecological communities; and it should be the source of earning for the local people.

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