Question: What is the theme of World Wetlands Day for 2017?
(a) Wetlands for disaster risk reduction
(b) Wetlands to serve as buffer
(c) Wetland for a disaster free future
(d) None of the above.
Ans: (a)
Related Fact :
- 2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
- This year World Wetland Day is being celebrated in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh at Bhoj Wetlands, Bhopal, which is one of the 26 Ramsar sites that India has designated under the Ramsar Convention.
- The theme of World Wetlands Day for 2017 is ‘Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction’. This theme has been selected to raise awareness on the vital roles of healthy wetlands in reducing the impacts of extreme events on communities and in helping to build resilience.
- The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai, under the Ministry of Environ and Forest, has planned two events to spread public awareness about conservation of Wetlands. The first is a radio-outreach and awareness generation campaign and second a school outreach programme.
Importance of Wetlands: - Wetlands support human well-being in a number of ways. As ‘kidneys of landscape’, wetlands receive flows of water and waste from upstream sources. They help stabilize water supplies, cleanse polluted waters, protect shorelines and recharge groundwater aquifers.
- Wetlands are our natural buffers against increasing risk of floods, droughts and tropical cyclones. Wetlands can act as sponges, storing peak rainfall and releasing water gradually during lean season.
- The floods in Kashmir Valley in September, 2014 and Chennai city in December, 2015 are reminders of the ways wetland destruction can make lives vulnerable.
- Super Cyclone Kalinga of 1999, Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and Phailin of 2013 underline the role coastal wetlands can play in buffering communities from impacts of these cyclones and wave surges.
- Wetland convention and India:
- India is a party to the Convention since 1982 and committed to the Ramsar approach of wise use of wetlands.
- The Ministry of Environment and Forest accords high priority to wetlands conservation, and has a dedicated scheme of ‘National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems’ (NPCA) to support State Governments in integrated management of these ecosystems. Till date, over 170 wetlands have been covered under the programme.
- The Ministry has also introduced Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 as the regulatory framework for conserving wetlands of the country.
Reference:
http://www.worldwetlandsday.org/documents
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=157912