For the Love of a Wetland

February 2nd was an ordinary day for many—the hawkers were selling their stuffs in New Road, office goers were hurrying to their respective offices, and not to forget, the NEA officials were planning the strategies to cut down on power outage. Amidst these myriad of activities, somewhere near the city, a bunch of young people were passionately trying to do their share in protecting our environment. The group was celebrating the World Wetland Day (WWD) at Nagdaha at Dhapakhel. Like many noble causes, this initiative went unnoticed by our media, but their contribution is worth a big applause.

On February 2, 1971, the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea signed the convention on wetlands. After the first international wetland celebration day in the year 1997 to raise awareness about wetlands, the day has come a long way in reminding us of the little things that we could do to save the country’s dying ecosystem. This year, the WWD 2009 was celebrated with the theme: Upstream-Downstream: Wetlands connect us all.

Among the world’s most productive environments, wetlands are cradles of biological diversity, providing water and primary productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival. In addition to supporting high concentration of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species, they are also important storehouses of plain genetic material.

Nepal became the signatory to the Ramsar Treaty on April 17, 1988. To conform with the treaty’s Article 3 which states the need for the preparation of a national policy by the signatory nations, the National Wetland Policy 2003 was enacted in Nepal. The major objective of the policy is to involve local people in the management of Nepal’s wetlands and conserve wetlands biodiversity with wise use of wetlands resources.

Nepal currently has nine sites designated as Wetland of International Importance: The Koshi Tappu wetland, the Beeshazar Tal (Lake) of Chitwan district, Ghodaghodi Tal of Kailali District, Jagadishpur Reservoir of Kapilvastu District, Rara Lake, Phoksundo Lake, Gokyo and Associated lakes, Gosainkunda and associated lakes, and Mai Pokhari of Illam. Nagdaha is not yet part of the list because it does not meet all the criteria set by the convention. However, its exclusion makes it no less important historically, religiously, and archeologically.

Nobody can deny the role that youth as change-makers play in preserving our ecosystem. This power of youth is substantiated when they come together in support of a cause that is of immense value to the population in general. This power could be seen there at Nagdaha where seven youth organizations were working as one team. Association for Youth Organization Nepal (AYON), Green.Society, Nagdaha Conservation and Reform Committee, Orbit Youth for Change, Tourism for Development Endeavors (TUDE), Yatra, and Youth in Engagement Sustainability (YES) came together to form an informal consortium to raise awareness on the issues and importance of wetlands in general, and Nagdaha in particular, with different activities like the AYON Forum, canvas painting, cleaning campaign, cycle rally, heritage walk for adults, hiking for children, poster presentation competition, and quiz competition.  

The program was designed in such a way that all the consortium members were responsible for one or more activities. For instance, Yatra, an organization working for environment conservation, organized the AYON forum and the poster presentation competition. Nagdaha Conservation and Reform Committee organized a quiz competition focused on environment and conservational issues among the students of schools of Dhapakhel VDCs.

AYON forum is a monthly program, which is organized on first Sunday of every month. The forum either focuses on sharing and discussing certain topics and themes, or skills training workshops which involve sharing of practical skills in various areas. At the AYON Forum on February 1, 2009, one day prior to the World Wetland day, the issues of wetlands were discussed among the leaders of different youth organizations at Nagdaha itself. Similarly, a poster presentation competition was organized among the students pursuing courses in environment, natural resources or development studies. Altogether seven groups with two members each participated in the competition. The competition was organized with an objective to highlight the issues of wetlands including the challenges going forward. The posters presented by students were able to fulfill the objectives of the competition.

Suraj Upadhyay and Lina Chalise of Kathmandu Forestry College (KAFCOL), members of the winning team, expressed that their involvement in the competition helped them understand the values attached with wetlands. Their poster covered the overall issue of wetlands, and showed the effect of human activities over time, and how can they be mitigated. Their presentation focused on youth and women empowerment for the conservation of wetlands.

Orbit International College and Orbit Youth for Change were responsible for the cycle rally and canvas painting. The cycle rally, which started from Matighar Mandala ended at Nagdaha was organized with the objective to promote Nagdaha as an alternative destination for eco-tourism. A total of 50 participants were part of the rally. The major objective of organizing cycle rally was to promote the use of cycle as a means to minimize pollution.  Students of Kathmandu University Fine Arts College participated in the canvas painting and came up with beautiful creations highlighting the value of Nagdaha.

TUDE and YES organized heritage walk and boating activities. The heritage walk started from Nagdaha to Santaneshwor Mahadev, Bajrabarahi, and Jharuwarashi. Santaneshowr Mahadev is about one and a half km east of Nagdaha, and Santaneshwar hill (mound), which is about 250 feet above the ground level with 356 stones paved steps leading to the temple of Santaneshwar, which  is one of the forms of Lord Shiva known to protect children.

Yatra has been researching the historical, cultural, and archeological values of Nagdaha. Anjana Luitel, Project Coordinator of Yatra and the consortium coordinator for the event, said that wetlands like Nagdaha can provide tremendous economic opportunities including water supply, fisheries, agriculture, recreation and tourism opportunities. She also added that Nagdaha holds special attributes as part of the cultural heritage related to the religious beliefs and constitutes a source of aesthetic inspiration.

Despite the intrinsic importance attached to the wetlands, they are one of the most threatened of the earth’s ecosystems because of their frequent mismanagement. Gokarna Adhikari, chairperson of Nagdaha Conservation and Reform Committee (NCRC) shared that although Nagdaha has various functions, values and attributes associated with it, they are not recognized by the local bodies. He said that unless local bodies including the VDCs give their support, the ecological processes of Nagdaha cannot continue functioning.
Niraj Khanal, general secretary of Yatra said that Nagdaha can be a haven for those who want to study environment, water conservation, and ecology. However, he expressed his sorrow over the fact that although there has been some progress, wetlands like Nagdaha remain among one of the most threatened ecosystems, owing mainly to ongoing drainage, pollution, and over-exploitation of resources.

Wetlands have the ability to adapt to changing conditions and accelerate change. They are important, and sometimes essential, for the health, welfare and safety of people who live in or near them. They are amongst the world’s most productive environments and provide a wide array of benefits. Owing to multiple roles of wetland ecosystem and their value to humanity, the government and those in authority including the local bodies in Nepal have to ensure that our own wetlands, including Nagdaha are not subjected to destruction by any means.