Regional Workshop on Conservation and Wise-use of Wetlands
As a part of Mission Sahbhagita for North-Eastern States

Date : November 14-15, 2024
Venue : Hotel Treenz, Ranka (near Mangkhim), and Tsomgo Lake Field Trip

Gangtok, Sikkim: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and Forest and Environment Department, Government of Sikkim is organising a two-day regional workshop on “Conservation and Wise-Use of Wetlands” under the Mission Sahbhagita for North-Eastern States on 14th and 15th November 2024 in Gangtok.

North-Eastern States are biodiversity hotspots of India. The eight sister states constitute approximately 5-6% of wetlands in the country. Deepor Beel in Assam, Rudrasagar in Tripura, Loktak Lake in Manipur and Pala Wetland in Mizoram are Ramsar Sites which are internationally recognized. Besides these several small and large wetlands in the region are repository of large number of flora and fauna. Several species of fauna and flora, including rare, threatened and endemic species are restricted to this region. The wetlands of this region provide multiple provisioning and regulatory ecosystem services and support livelihood of millions of people directly and indirectly. The social, cultural, spiritual and economic security of the region is inseparably linked to the health of wetland ecosystem of the region. The region also faces the impact of rapid urbanization, industrialization, pollution, colonization of invasive species which lead to habitat degradation and loss of wetlands.

Conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands through multiple stakeholder participation involving government agencies, voluntary organizations and general public is essential for safe guarding the ecosystem health of the wetlands. Towards this goal, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India launched Mission Sahbhagita in 2022 for a healthy and effectively managed network of wetlands of national and international significance. Mission Sahbhagita aims to enable a society ownership approach for participatory conservation and wise use of Wetlands.

This two-day regional workshop for the wetland managers and stakeholders of North-Eastern States aims to rejuvenate the efforts in conservation and wise-use of wetlands in collaboration with local stakeholders and general public per se in line with the objectives of Mission Sahbhagita. Being hosted by the Sikkim State Wetland Authority, Forest and Environment Department, Government of Sikkim, the two-day workshop will feature interactions at Hotel Treenz, Ranka (near Mangkhim) wherein officers and scientists from the Ministry, forest officers, wetland managers, researchers and stakeholders from North Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim will be participating. The inaugural session of the workshop will be chaired by the Hon’ble Minister Forest Shri Pintso Namgyal Lepcha. 

» See Programme Schedule [PDF, 1.04 Mb]