Hyderabad: Telangana Forest and Environment Minister Konda Surekha on Wednesday directed officials to expedite the process of notifying wetlands in the state. Surekha, who held a meeting with officials, observed that wetlands play a key role in the conservation of the environment and that Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules-2017 should be implemented effectively.
She told the officials to speed up the process of identifying boundaries and digital mapping of wetlands, according to her post on X.
She said expert views and scientific studies are crucial in the conservation of wetlands. She suggested organising programmes at the local level to raise people’s awareness on the conservation of wetlands.
Officials said in the meeting that ‘ground truthing’ (information provided by direct observation) was completed for 12,249 wetlands identified in the state-wide ‘SAC Atlas’. They stated that boundaries of 4,023 wetlands have been identified so far, he post said.
The meeting also discussed the proposal to seek recognition of Manjeera Wildlife Sanctuary as a Ramsar site (wetlands of ‘international importance’ as per Ramsar Convention). The proposal is with the irrigation department for final views, and it would be sent to the Union Environment Ministry in due course.
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