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Mahesh

28/03/23 13:34 PM IST

National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) scheme

In News
  • Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) provided financial assistance to the States/Union Territories under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) and National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP).
About NPCA
  • The NPCA is a conservation programme for both wetlands and lakes.
  • It is a Centrally-sponsored scheme, currently being implemented by the MoEFCC, and was formulated by merging the National Lake Conservation Plan and the National Wetlands Conservation Programme.
  • Under the NPCA scheme, the central assistance is based on proposals received from state governments, in conformity with the guidelines and budget availability.
  • The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, lakefront development, in-situ cleaning
  • i.e. desilting and de-weeding, stormwater management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment, lake beautification, survey and demarcation, bio fencing, fisheries development, weed control, biodiversity conservation, education and awareness creation, community participation etc.
  • It aims at holistic conservation and restoration of lakes & wetlands for achieving desired water quality enhancement besides improvement in biodiversity and ecosystem through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory framework.
  • The scheme would contribute to the reduction of pollution loads and improvement in biodiversity as also the goods and services provided by these water bodies to the stakeholders.
Wetlands
  • Wetlands are shallow water-bodies with high biodiversity and productivity. They play an important role in biogeochemical cycles and have the potential for wastewater treatment.
  • They are used as a source of drinking water and for navigation, irrigation, improving micro-climate and have ecotourism potential.
  • Wetlands are land areas, which are seasonally or permanently flooded with water.
  • The Ramsar Convention's definition for wetlands includes "areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which, at low tides, does not exceed six meters".
  • Fishponds, rice paddies, and saltpans are human-made wetlands.
Source- PIB

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