5 February 2012

The agriculture ministry has taken several measures to ensure that wetlands in the country are protected and now wetlands in the country will receive special protection.

The National Council has ratified Bhutan’s entry into the Ramsar Convention, a high level inter-governmental treaty on wetlands. It comes at a time when wetlands and wetland-dominated ecosystems are disappearing at an unsettling rate all over the country. Three wetlands have been identified as Ramsar sites in Bhutan; Phobjikha, Khothokha, and Bumdeling, all winter grounds for black necked cranes.

The agriculture minister, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho, said the decision of joining the convention is only going to further benefit the country in its effort to conserve wetlands. He said wetlands constitute a resource of great economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value, the loss of which would be irreparable.

As a member of the Convention, Bhutan will benefit in areas of wetlands preservation such as fish and wildlife habitat, natural water quality improvement, flood storage and mitigate the affects of climate change. Some other benefits include increased support for public awareness about the importance of the sites, participation by local stakeholders in its management, protection of the site and its surrounding areas, conservation funding, and opportunities for promotion of scientific research and ecotourism.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, WWF Bhutan and other relevant stakeholders in Bhutan have been engaged in various programs in protecting and conserving wetlands in the country. Earlier, the ministry announced that it will designate and regulate specific wetlands as critical components of watershed ecosystem.

The ministry declared that wetlands that are more than one acre will be considered as “significant wetland”. The ministry also announced that all public, private or community based developmental activities falling within a wetland area should make all possible efforts to avoid adverse impacts to the extent practicable.

It has been found that the drying up of mountain springs and apparent changes in the natural flow regimes are closely associated with the loss or reduction in the number or size of the wetland patches close to the recharge zones and effluent reaches. “Efforts should be taken to minimize impacts that could not be avoided. If a wetland has to be converted and it is unavoidable, efforts should be made to restore an equal area of degraded wetlands,” stated the ministry.

? There are various types of wetlands, which include flowing water in rivers, streams and springs with associated riverine wetlands and wetlands encompassing areas of constant soil saturation or inundation with distinct vegetation and faunal communities. Disappearing wetlands have immense impact to the biodiversity of an area. Wetlands serve as home to many living species. In Bhutan, many wetland birds have now become extinct and apart from the birds, plants like acorus calamus and hydro piper have also vanished.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetland is a mechanism for governments to use to conserve and make wise use of wetlands by developing policies and guidelines for wetland protection; designating the key wetlands as Ramsar Sites and ensuring its management and wise use; and to promote cooperation on a local, national, regional and international level for wetland conservation.

It was developed in the 1960s due to concerns over destruction of wetlands and its impacts on people and biodiversity. The treaty was adopted on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

The Convention entered into force in 1975 and as of now there are 160 member countries which are called contracting parties. The contracting parties seek to deliver their commitments to wetlands conservation and wise use through three pillars of action.

Source: Business Bhutan