The Environment Department has constituted the Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA). It is constituted as part of the requirement of the Role of Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
The Goa State Wetland Authority is chaired by the Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar, along with the forest minister, Rajendra Arlekar as vice-chairman. Its other members comprise of Government officials, most of them from the Forest Department, Town and Country Planning, Water Resources and Fisheries Department.
Two subject matter specialists from the Goa University, G N Nayak and Nandkumar Kamat; representatives from the civil society, Bhiva Parab and Ishwar Kuball along with a local stakeholder, Ashish Karmali have been selected.
The tasks of the authority are identifying activities for management and prudent use of wetlands.
“Ideally, there is a need of such an authority to guide the process. There is need to develop a standard list of activities not be taken up at wetlands in general besides restricting site specific activities,” an activist said.
