Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai’s call — ‘Become Wetland Friends, Save Biological Heritage’
High-level workshop on Wetland and Biodiversity Conservation in Nava Raipur
Raipur, July 14, 2025 / A high-level workshop was organized today at Dandakaranya Aranya Bhawan, Nava Raipur with the aim of conservation of biodiversity and wetlands. On this occasion, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Dr. Raman Singh, Leader of Opposition Dr. Charandas Mahant, Deputy Chief Ministers Shri Arun Sao and Shri Vijay Sharma, along with all the ministers and MLAs of the cabinet were present.
Addressing the workshop, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai said that the concept of developed Chhattisgarh is not only fulfilled by the development of basic infrastructure, but also by the protection of environmental balance and biological diversity. He appealed that every public representative and citizen should understand the individual responsibility for the conservation of biodiversity and wetlands and convert this campaign into a mass movement by becoming ‘Wetland Friends’.
Presiding over the workshop, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap said that the conservation of biodiversity and wetlands is not only an environmental necessity, but also a question of the safety of our future generations. He urged all the public representatives to ensure participation in the conservation of biodiversity and spread public awareness by becoming “Wetland Friends”.
Shri Rakesh Chaturvedi, Chairman of Chhattisgarh Biodiversity Board, gave a comprehensive presentation in the program. He gave detailed information on the 1992 Earth Summit, Biodiversity Act 2002, the role of the National Biodiversity Board and the structure and functions of Biodiversity Management Committees. He also informed that Chhattisgarh is the third state in the country where Biodiversity Management Committees are working effectively.
In the context of wetland conservation, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri Arun Kumar Pandey said that wetlands play an important role in maintaining ecological balance. Giving information about the functioning of the State Wetland Authority and the process of formation of District Level Wetland Conservation Committees, he said that through these committees, monitoring and conservation of wetlands at the local level is being strengthened.
It was informed in the program that the state’s Gidhwa-Parsada bird sanctuary is eligible to become a Ramsar site based on international standards. In addition, the process of listing Khokhra village of Balodabazar district as the first Ramsar site of Chhattisgarh is in progress.
At the end of the workshop, all the public representatives and officers were appealed to actively participate in the conservation of biodiversity and wetlands by joining as “Wetland Friends”. This participation will help in giving the form of a mass movement to environmental awareness in the state.
On this occasion, Chief Secretary Shri Amitabh Jain, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) Smt. Richa Sharma, Chhattisgarh Forest Force Chief Shri V. Srinivas Rao, Secretary Member of Biodiversity Board Shri Rajesh Kumar Chandele, along with many senior officers and experts were present.