World Wetland Day Celebration – India Water Foundation

World Wetland Day Celebration

Jointly Organised By

Water, Wetlands, Life: Inseparable coexistence

Safeguarding biodiversity, delivering water and food Security in the face of challenging climate

February 02, 2021, 10:30 -1:30 hrs (IST)

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Background

We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands. The World Wetland Day 2021 theme of wetlands and water highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing, and the health of our planet. To commemorate the World Wetland Day, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Department of Water Resource, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and India Water Foundation (IWF) is jointly observing the celebrations of the ‘World Wetlands Day’ on 2^nd February 2021 from 10.30 HRS to 13.30 HRS. The celebration will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by UNEP.

Expected Outcomes

To create multi-stakeholder partnership opportunities and alliances at all levels for capacity building and identifying funding opportunities, best practices and lessons learned based on existing projects, programs and documentation that demonstrably links management of wetlands to improving ecosystem services.

Integrated wetlands wise approach for the scientific management and governance of incorporating various components like Biodiversity, Ecosystem management, Riparian erosion control, Natural Resource Management, Natural & Human capital, etc.

Conservation and rejuvenation process prioritize actions in holistic way and to bring behavioral change among stakeholders.

Understanding the linkages among water, wetland, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Know your Host

Chair Address	Address
Sh. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Sh. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Union Minister, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India is an active politician from Rajasthan. Shekhawat began his political career in student politics. He is interested in Cooperatives, Social Work, Education, Sustainable water resource development, Industry, Rural Development etc.	Sh. Rattan Lal Kataria Sh. Rattan Lal Kataria became the Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India on May 2019. He is an Indian politician from Haryana. He is a member of the 16th Lok Sabha. He got elected to 16th Lok Sabha from Ambala.
Keynote Address	Introduction and Key Address
Shri Pankaj Kumar, IAS Shri Pankaj Kumar (Nagaland 1987) has recently asumed the charge of Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Earlier he was Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT, New Delhi.	Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, IAS Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. With a demonstrated history of more than 30 years as an Indian Administrative officer, Skilled in Sustainable Development, Analytics, Government, Urbanization, Housing, Water Resource Management and Policy Analysis.

Welcome Address

Dr. Arvind Kumar

Dr. Arvind Kumar is Governor World Water Council and founder president of India Water Foundation. He has been instrumental in Inter-Sectoral Convergence in Water Sector and Regional Water Diplomacy. He is member of the ‘National Wetlands Committee’, ministry of environment forest and climate change, Government of India and Member Technical Advisory Committee for India’s Third National Communication and Biennial Update Reports to UNFCCC. He is Member Meghalaya State Water Resources Council and the State Council for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, government of Meghalaya. He is a PhD Defense Studies and has published over 400-plus research articles in reputed journals.

Panel Discussion

Chair & Moderator

Mr. Atul Bagai

Mr. Atul Bagai joined UN Environment’s Ozone Action programme under the Montreal Protocol as the Regional Officer for South Asia in 2000 and served as Senior Regional Coordinator to build the capacity of subregional networks in Asia and enable them to meet the compliance targets under the Montreal Protocol. In that capacity, he spearheaded and led some innovative initiatives with the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund. Prior to joining UN Environment, Atul worked with the Government of India for 17 years in a number of senior positions such as Chief of Staff to two Ministers at the federal level (Ministry of Finance and Ministry of External Affairs) and to a Chief Minister at the provincial level.

Distinguished Panelist
Mr. Brijesh Sikka He is currently Senior Consultant with National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. He retired in December, 2018 as Adviser in Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India. He has more than 37 years’ experience in the field of civil/environmental engineering & sustainable development, especially in pollution abatement & conservation of rivers (including Ganga & its tributaries), lakes & wetlands, industrial & water pollution as well as environmental impact assessment of projects in India.	Mr. Dhananjai Mohan Dhananjai Mohan is a member of 1988 batch of Indian Forest Service, Uttarakhand cadre. Before taking over as Director Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun in January 2020, he served as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Planning and Financial Management and Chairman State Biodiversity Board, in the state of Uttarakhand. He has been a recipient of Dr Salim Ali fellowship of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India in 2005.
Dr. Ritesh Kumar A natural resources economist by training, Ritesh has nearly two decades of work experience on wetlands of South Asia, specifically on the aspects of integrated management planning, ecosystem services assessment and valuation and mainstreaming wetlands in development. He has led multidisciplinary projects on the formulation of management action plans, environmental flows assessment, wetlands and climate change adaptation, and ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction. Ritesh is also a nominated member of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel of Ramsar Convention, and a coordinating lead author at the Inter-governmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).	Mr. M. P. Singh Mr. M P Singh is the Chief of Development operations with Jica India. His passionate work in Water & Sanitation, Urban Transportation (Metro), Railways sectors through effective policy dialogue, harmonized procedures, consensus building among diverse stakeholders and intensive project management have made a real difference to the society. Singh’s constant endeavor has been to maximize effectiveness and mitigating risks amongst the vulnerable sections by incorporating value-added/reforms measures in projects, such as Pollution abatement of Ganga, Yamuna and other Rivers in major cities like Pune and Nagpur, COVID-19 Mitigation Measures, HIV/AIDS awareness among migrant workers etc.