IMPHAL — Manipur
is set to observe World Wetland Day 2025 by organising various events at
different locations on Sunday.
The state-level observation will be held under the aegis of
the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change at Leishang-Hiden, Canchipur,
on the outskirts of Imphal, near the Manipur University campus, in the presence
of the state Chief Minister, N Biren Singh.
State Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister
Thongam Biswajit Singh and Lanthabal MLA Karam Shyam will also attend the
state-level observation, which will be held on the theme ‘Protecting wetlands
for our common future’.
During the state-level observation, prizes for the
state-level symposium on wetlands, poster competition, and Wetlands Mitra will
be distributed, while the first volume of ‘Wetlands of Manipur’ will also be
released.
Similarly, a water bird census report and a booklet on water
birds of Loktak Lake will be released during a World Wetland Day observation to
be held under the aegis of the Loktak Development Authority (LDA) at Sendra
Lake Front, Loktak Lake, 45 km south of Imphal in Manipur’s Bishnupur district.
Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, accompanied by the state Works
Minister, Govindas Konthoujam, and three MLAs—T Robindro Singh (Thanga), Th Shanti
Singh (Moirang), and S Premchandra Singh (Kumbi)—as well as LDA chairman M
Asnikumar Singh and principal chief conservator of Forests, Anurag Bajpai, will
also attend the observation.
According to sources from the Directorate of Environment and
Climate Change, 23 wetlands in Manipur have been recommended by the Technical
Experts Committee for Sustainable Management, out of 708 wetland categories
identified in the National Wetlands Atlas 2009.
Of these 23 wetlands, seven are in the process of being notified
as state priorities, and project activities have been undertaken in four
wetlands.
The seven wetlands to be notified as state priorities are
Jaimeng Wetland in Kangpokpi district, Utra Pat in Bishnupur district, Yaral
Pat in Imphal East district, Waithou-Phumnom Pat in Thoubal and Imphal East
districts, Kachouphung Wetland in Kamjong district, Pumlen-Khoidum Pat in
Kakching district, and Ikop-Kharung Pat in Thoubal and Kakching districts.
