By Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan

The approach

• Assess the institutional, information and policy gaps, that are adversely affecting the conservation and sustainable use  
• Increase the environmental awareness among various stakeholders and enhance their 
• capacity to address the issues faced in the conservation of wetlands. 
• Forge long-term, effective, and inclusive institutional mechanisms involving local 
• community groups, government agencies, academia, and NGOs, with clearly defined roles 
• and responsibilities. 
• Enable the local communities to participate and lead the lake management & conservation 

How long you’ve been running it

Nineteen years

Actors

Fishers, Farmers, Tour enterprises, Local Self govts., Teachers & students, Line Departments. 

Objectives

To identify and develop local capacity and institutional networks for participatory integrated management of the heavily used estuaries of India.

How it’s going

• Lake Protection Forums (LPF) grass-root democratic institutions formed among the indigenous fishing communities for conservation and livelihood sustainability.
• Established Social Innovation Centres for Gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Farm schools set up to train farmers in responsible agriculture.
• Disaster Preparedness Gramasabhas (DPGS) are set up to create disaster literate communities and to prepare people to respond fast and cope with disasters.
• Jalapaadom, a wetland education program is being conducted in 40 village schools, training 1200 students and 60 teachers every year
• 30 community fish sanctuaries (Matsyahtavalam) established
• 50 hectors of Black clam-bed restored for Sustainable clam fisheries
• Established 580 community rainwater harvesting structures and 26 RO plants to address drinking water issues
• Training & capacity building for Panchayaths on coastal & wetland
  related policies , sustainable development & conservation.
• Organise several strategic community- driven participatory monitoring programs and information generated is published through India Biodiversity Portal.

Challenges

• Challenges in getting continuous long term grants.
• Bureaucratic apathy

Connections to the Resolutions

This program was originally designed as per Resolution IX.18 (CEPA), but it has gone well beyond CEPA objectives

Benefits of your work, for the Wetlands Convention 

This is a model project for effective conservation of heavily used wetlands. Now known as Deliberative Democratic Conservation (DDC),  this forms long-term, effective, and inclusive institutional mechanisms to address conservation and sustainability issues involving government agencies, local self-governments (LSG), academia, NGOs, and local community groups. 

Recommendations you make to the Convention   

The Convention should initiate a formal mechanism to network and support local and regional level conservation initiatives. Convention should put efforts to channelise funds for supporting local conservation initiatives (like CEPF).