Kolkata: On World Wetlands Day, 2 February, a citizen-centric digital wetland knowledge and community platform called ‘Voices for Wetlands’ was launched in Kolkata.
The initiative is a community-led conservation program organised by The Climate Thinker in collaboration with Asar Social Impact Advisors.
The platform brings together satellite-based mapping, community knowledge and policy dialogue to highlight the current status of wetlands in the state and to promote people-centric conservation.
West Bengal currently has 4,62,523 Wetlands covering around 1.18 million hectares, which accounts for nearly 12.9 per cent of the state’s total geographical area.
Rivers, streams, tanks, ponds and mangroves together constitute over 80 per cent of the wetland area.
West Bengal hosts a wide diversity of wetland ecosystems, including globally significant sites such as East Kolkata Wetlands and the Sundarbans.
In addition, there are floodplains, oxbow lakes, marshes and thousands of man-made tanks spread across rural and urban landscapes.
The newly launched digital platform seeks to document wetland stories, traditional knowledge, research findings and field-level experiences in an accessible format.
It also aims to connect community groups, researchers, educators, civil society organizations and policymakers working on wetland issues.
Designed as a living knowledge commons rather than a static website, the platform will evolve through citizen contributions, offline meetings and continued engagement.
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