Wesley Edward Pereira
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030 is intended to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis, prevent the loss of a million species and enhance food security, water supply and livelihoods. Reviving natural carbon sinks – such as forests and wetlands – could help close the climate emissions gap by 25% by 2030.
Also, one of the urgent targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-6 was to protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. The protection of the water-related ecosystems including coastal wetlands such as age-old mangroves and salt marshes, inland wetlands and upland forests is critical for implementing nature-based solutions for mitigating disaster risks.
It has been rightly mentioned by researchers that joining the Ramsar Convention is only being a part of the international community to express solidarity with its objectives. Designation of a few wetlands under the Ramsar Convention and enlisting a few other large ones as important wetlands does not ensure the conservation of a large number of wetlands.
A good initiative has been taken to notify wetlands in India (not just in Goa ) after ground verification and documentation as per the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and guidelines for implementing Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
For the National Hydrology project, the Survey of India (SOI) has been entrusted with the responsibility to generate, prepare and provide various types of Geo-spatial datasets i.e. mapping and preparing the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of 0.5m, 5m & 10 m for River Basin areas (plain), up to 5 km on both the sides of river and GIS ready data of SOI Topo sheets on 1: 25 K scale. The Project is to be completed in eight years duration with two phases of four years each.
The above referred geo-spatial datasets of SOI with GTS bench marks as and when completed and approved will provide support to planners and designers in proper understanding of water levels, flood marks, settlement & transportation plans, vegetation and other land-use features for planning and decision -making process at the village and town levels.
Such type of geo-spatial datasets will help in demarcating site-specific land use plans, required for proper project preparation of traditional water conservation and flood management schemes.
Has the above referred work been completed by SOI and approved for use in planning and decision making process at the village and town levels? Are the approximate areas related to the mean flood level shown in the wetlands draft notifications in Goa based on geo-spatial datasets of SOI with GTS bench marks or is it based on assumptions?
Or is the 50 metre buffer zone shown in the wetlands draft notifications in Goa (with approximate areas), based on the statement made by a invitee member whose name is listed at Sr. No. 10 in the Minutes of the Third Technical Committee Meeting (refer Agenda 3, page 3 of 5 for his statement) of Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA) held on December 2, 2020?
There are no supporting documents or data in the draft notification for wetlands proposed to be notified in Goa to indicate that the 50 metre buffer zone is demarcated as per Section VIII 45 (f) of the guidelines for implementing Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, based on the site-specific requirement of mean high flood level, observed in the past ten years, calculated from the date of commencement of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
Are the authorities attempting to notify wetlands in Goa without conducting proper studies on flood levels for demarcating buffer zones?