Author: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

To involve maximum stakeholders and extend the outreach, a two pronged approach was adopted to commemorate the WWD-2013 by involving the citizens and policy makers.

The two specific events organized are enlisted below:

Urban Wetland Clean-up Activity on Februrary 2, 2013

Navi Mumbai the upcoming twin city of Mumbai is blessed with ample of wetlands. Being a coastal city, Navi Mumbai has a rich mangrove forest and creek front. The city is also visited by thousands of migratory birds such as Lesser and Greater Flamingos in the winter season especially between November – March.Hence, to highlight the importance of “Urban Wetlands” the clean-up activity was conducted at Sagar Vihar, at Vashi in Navi Mumbai. It being the peak season of migratory flamingos, their presence in abundance formed the perfect backdrop for the event.

Development of urban wetlands: Need, gaps and way forward - State level brainstorming - February 4, 2013

A half-day state level brainstorming session on “Urban Wetlands” was organized in collaboration with Urban Development Department, GoM (Government of Maharashtra) and The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. More than 75 officers including Municipal Commissioners and town planners from across 18 districts of Maharashtra participated in the program. Hon’ble Chief Secretary, GoM graced the occasion as the esteemed Chief Guest; Whereas Smt Waheeda Rehman, a well-known film personality and brand ambassador of TERI’s WeMaP initiative,was the Guest of Honor of the program.

The brain storming session was chaired by Dr. R. K Pachauri, Director General, TERI and Chairman IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). The panel for the brainstorming session comprised of Shri Praveen Pardeshi, Principal Secretary, Forest Department, GoM; Shri Manu Kumar Srivastava, principal Secretary, Urban Development Department (I), GoM, and Smt Valsa Nair Singh, Secretary, Environment Department, GoM, Dr.Asad Rahmani, Director, BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) and Dr. Anjali Parasnis, Associate Director, TERI.

For details of the events, please download the attachment: