Context: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Mission Sahbhagita in 2022 with a mission of ‘a healthy and effectively managed network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance.

About Mission Sahbhagita

• It is a platform for sharing wetland management experiences, best practices, success stories, and associated challenges.

• It has been launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

• It is an important step towards participatory conservation and wise use of wetlands. 

• Its aim is to enable a society ownership approach with communities leading at the forefront.

• ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ is a part of this mission.

• This campaign is structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation, enabling affirmative actions for wetlands conservation at all levels of the society and involving all strata of the society.

• This campaign over next one year will include sensitizing people of the value of wetlands, increasing the coverage of wetland mitras and building citizen partnerships for wetlands conservation.

Other steps taken by the government for the conservation of wetlands

• Wetlands authorities have been constituted in States/UTs through Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017 for notification, conservation and management of wetlands.

• National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems(NPCA): It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme. It is a conservation programme for the management of identified wetlands (including lakes) in the country on cost sharing basis between the Central Government and respective State Governments / Union Territories. 

• The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, lakefront development, in-situ cleaning i.e. desilting & de-weeding, stormwater management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment, lake beautification etc.