Venue: Jaipur

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Address by Minister of State MoEF, Govt. of India

Excellency Madam President, Excellency Governor of Rajasthan, Hon’ble Minister for Forest, Environment and Mines, Rajasthan, Excellency Governor of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, Director General ILEC, Member, Planning Commission, Secretary, Environment and Forests, Government of India, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.

It is my proud privilege to extend a warm welcome to all of you to the 12 th world Lake Conference in this historic Pink City of Jaipur. On behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India and on my own behalf, I thank Her Excellency the President of India for graciously accepting our invitation to inaugurate this Conference. I also wish to acknowledge the kind gesture of his Excellency the Governor of Rajasthan in presiding over this function.

The Ministry is proud to organize this Conference, the 12 th in a series of Biennial Conferences organized under the aegis of the International lake Environment Committee. The Conference is being held for the first time in South Asia. We are happy to hold it in Jaipur, the Capital of Rajasthan, which has an age-old tradition of rainwater harvesting and constructing lakes and water bodies. We are thankful to you, Madam Chief Minister, for readily agreeing to host the Conference in this beautiful city. We also thank the Minister of Environment, Government of Rajasthan for his presence in this important event.

I thank the ILEC and its director General, Mr. Hamanaka for inviting India to organize the 12 th Conference and thereby providing us this opportunity for sharing experiences. I am happy to welcome Mr. Hashimoto, Hon’ble Governor of Ibaraki Prefecture who has keen interest in the conservation of water resources and encourages researchers worldwide through the award of Kasumigaura Prizes.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the co-sponsors of the Conference – the Lake Development Authority of Karnataka, the GTZ and the Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan for their generous support.

Let me now say a few words about the conference and the Ministry’s programmes relating the lakes and wetlands.

Lakes are an important feature of Earth’s Landscape. They are not only a very significant source of water besides the rivers & ground water, but also provide habitat to a variety of flora and fauna. Lakes influence the microclimate and add to the aesthetic beauty of Landscapes. Numerous human settlements have developed around lakes keeping in view the accessibility to water as well as their moderating influence on the local climate. Rapid population growth and expansion of these urban centers in past few decades has directly affected the vital linkages between these lakes and their catchments, resulting in drastic changes in the quantity and quality of water reaching the lakes. All kinds of urban wastes find their way into the lakes causing their shrinking and severe pollution. Biodiversity in and around lakes has become a victim of human onslaught. Even in rural areas the water bodies have not remained unaffected.

The Government of India is fully conscious of the problems facing the nation’s water bodies. The National Water Policy recognizes the requirements of the environment for water. The critical issue of Environmental flows in being currently debated in the country. The national Environment policy approved by the Government in 2006 acknowledges the valuable ecological services, which wetlands provide. It calls for proper economic valuation of services, duly accounting for economic losses due to degradation of water bodies.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has undertaken two major programmes for the conservation, management and restoration of lakes and wetlands. The Wetlands Conservation Programme has identified 94 nationally important wetlands of which 25 have been declared as internationally important under the Ramsar Convention. India’s efforts in restoring the ecology of lake.

Chilika by re-establishing its connection with the sea have been recognized globally by the Ramsar Conservation award in 2003. The Bhoj wetland in Bhopal ahs earned international acclaim for its integrated management efforts. Other major wetlands being extensively managed include lakes Harike in Punjab, Wular in J&K, Loktak in Manipur, Vembanad in Kerala, Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh and Sambhar in Rajasthan.

The National lake Conservation Plan focuses on pollution abatement and water quality improvement in the urban & semi-urban lakes. The programme supports activities in and around 48 lakes in 13 states. Prominent amongst these are Lake Dal in Srinagar, Nainital and Bhimtal in Uttarakhand, Ooty and Kodaikanal in Tamilnadu, Powai in Mumbai.

For the lakes in Rajasthan, the Government of India is supporting conservation of Mansagar lake in jaipur. I am very happy to inform that we have recently approved restoration projects for Anasagar lake in Ajmer and Nakki lake in Mount Abu. Proposals for rejuvenation of Puskar lake at Ajmer and for lakes Pichola & Fatehsagar in Udaipur are under active consideration of my Ministry.

For conservation and preservation of water bodies, my Ministry is actively formulating a regulatory framework under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act.

This World Lake Conference provides an opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences in the management of lakes and wetlands worldwide. We have received about 800 scientific contributions from more than 60 countries. The Conference is being attended by Government officials, lake and wetland managers, students, NGOs and policy makers from different States of India and abroad. The Ministry looks forward with great interest to the deliberations of this conference and the recommendations that this august gathering of senior scientists and managers will make at the end.

I thank all the overseas delegates who have traveled from far and wide to participate in this conference. Special thanks are due to the invited keynote speakers for their time and efforts in preparing their presentations. I am grateful to Her Excellency madam President for sparing her time to be with us at the inaugural function. I once again thank His Excellency the Governor of Rajasthan and the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for gracing the occasion.

I wish you all fruitful deliberations and a very pleasant stay in Jaipur.

Thank you.