Venue: Jaipur

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Valedictory Address by Minister of State MoEF, Govt. of India

Hon’ble Minister for Forest, Environment & Mines, Government of Rajasthan, Shri Laxmi Narayan Daveji, Hon’ble Vice Minister, State of Environment Protection Administration, China, Mr. Wang Yuqing, Prof. Nakamura, Chairman, ILEC Scientific Committee, Mr. R.H. Khwaja, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & forests, Shri Ashok Jain, Principal Secretary, Environment, Government of Rajasthan, Delegates and friends,

I am very happy to be here once again. As this Conference comes to an end, it is extremely satisfying to note that over 600 delegates have actively participated in the five day deliberations.

We have just adopted the historic “Jaipur Declaration”. The importance of Lakes & Wetlands, their protection, conservation, and wise use has been prominently acknowledged in the Declaration. Government of India has taken due note of these recommendations. We shall try to implement some of these recommendations in their true letter and spirit immediately which include:

• Appropriate research methodologies to facilitate execution of Management Action Plans.
  
  
• Developing standards for chemical and biological parameters for lake and wetlands.
  
  
• Promotion of innovative and low cost technologies for restoration of lakes andd wet lands.
  
  
• Developing effective institutional mechanism to coordinate conservation activities of lakes and wetlands.

I also appeal to all the participating countries to make efforts to implement the recommendations of the Jaipur Declarations. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of creating awareness by all stakeholders in society for protection and conservation of Lakes & Wetlands. The media has a critical role to play. I urge them to create constant awareness for promoting the concept of environmentally sustainable economic development. Civil Society, Students, Academicians and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should all work in harmony for promoting awareness. Unless all of us share a common Vision-Mission approach, we cannot succeed in our noble intentions.

I am confident that the Govt. of Rajasthan will sincerely and energetically promote conservation of Lakes & Wetlands in the State. In my welcome address at the inaugural session, I had announced sanctioning of projects for some Lakes & Wetlands in the State. It is now up to the State Govt. to make these lakes as role-models for the rest of the country. I am sure representatives of other State Governments will also rise to the occasion in promoting wise use of Lakes & Wetlands.

In order to revitalize lakes and wetland conservation programme in the country, my Ministry has initiated number of measures to make this programme more meaningful and user friendly.

The National environment Policy 2006, emphasizes setting up of legally enforceable regulatory mechanism for conservation of lakes and wetlands, develop national inventories and integrate wetland conservation into sectoral development plans for poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement. For conservation and preservation of lakes and wetland, my Ministry is actively formulating a regulatory framework under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act.

Various surveys have been undertaken to inventorize the lakes and wetland in the country. Recently, space Application Centre, Ahmedabad has been given a project to map and inventorize wetlands and lakes for preparing state-wise Atlases and for creating a digital data base.

In order to make lake and wetland conservation programme multi-disciplinary, holistic and integrated, state governments have been asked to constitute lake and wetland conservation authorities comprising of experts from various concerned state government departments to undertake conservation activities in a more scientific, cohesive and sustainable manner. Some states have already formed such authorities while others are in the process of doing so.

During the 10th Plan, a number of training programmes have been conducted in collaboration with different academic organizations on various aspects of lake and wetland management. There is a proposal now to conduct these on regional basis in various parts of the country to make it more cost effective and result oriented. Steps are also being taken to review, monitor and evaluate various conservation activities through reputed organizations in some of the lakes/wetlands in the country who have received financial assistance from Government of India for more than 5 years. I am sure during the 11th Five Year Plan, my Ministry will expand conservation and restoration programme covering the prioritized lakes and wetlands in various state of the country which are not covered at present under these programmes.

I compliment all officers and staff of my Ministry who have worked with great dedication, sincerity & devotion to duty in making this event successful. I thank the Govt. of Rajasthan and their officers who have contributed for the successful organization of the 12th World Lake Conference. I also compliment ILEC for guiding the Conference on proactive and constructive lines.

Let us all take a pledge that we will not allow the recommendations of Taal 2007 to wither away. Let us re-dedicate ourselves to ceaselessly work for the protection, conservation and wise use of lakes & Wetlands.

Thank You.