Speech of the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, on the Inauguration of the 12th World Lake Conference

Shri S.K. Singh, Governor of Rajasthan,

Smt. Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan,

Shri Namo Narain Meena, Minister of State for Environment and Forests of the Government of India

Director General of International Lake Environment Committee,

Shri Lakshmi Narain Dave, Minister (Forests & Environment), Govt. of Rajasthan

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I warmly welcome all delegates, many of whom have traveled from different parts of the world and many others from all corners of India, to attend this 12th World Lake Conference - Taal 2007 - being organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India in association with the State Government of Rajasthan.

I also take this opportunity to thank the International Lake Environment Committee for accepting India's proposal to host the Conference in Jaipur. I am happy to note that this Conference is being organized for the first time in South Asia, a region well known for its diverse water bodies, including lakes.

Water is Life and Life cannot exist without water. It is sacred for its life giving and life sustaining properties. This has been aptly described in the following words of Rahim - the saint-poet: -

"Rahiman paani rakhiye, bin paani sab sun;

paani gaye na ubre, moti, manas, chun."

Which means - Conserve water, as without water everything is lifeless; Nothing will grow, neither pearl, nor man nor grain.

Though water is available in plenty on Earth, it is only 2 percent of the Earth's freshwater that sustains human life. More than three-fourths of this freshwater exists in lakes and wetlands, which are a source of water for domestic use, agriculture and industry, besides being habitats for our rich biodiversity.

A Lake is the most beautiful and expressive feature of a landscape. It is often described as the "eye of the Earth" and rightly so. A pristine lake reflects the beauty and joy around it, but a polluted lake choked by callous dumping of waste is like a blind eye. Unfortunately, today many of our lakes have been blinded and polluted on account of over-exploitation and reckless dumping of human and industrial waste. It would be well to remember that we are the custodians of the Earth and its resources. Unless remedial measures are taken, we would be guilty of depriving future generations of the beauty, the grandeur and the bountiful benefits of nature.

India has a large number and a huge variance of lakes. Many of our lakes are unique ecosystems and valuable from the historical, cultural, biological and functional point of view. The Himalayas are endowed with hundreds of relatively small but highly sacred lakes where many a sage have meditated. Lakes like the holy Pushkar, devoted to Lord Brahma - the creator of the universe - attract millions of devotees and tourists from all parts of the world every year for a holy bath at the onset of winter. In India not only are natural lakes important but there also exists an ancient tradition of creating lakes for harvesting rainwater. Constructing a lake was considered to be the duty of a good king and a sacred act by the community. King Bhoj created the large lake in Bhopal, now known as the Bhoj Wetland, more than 1000 years ago. Rajasthan has been at the forefront of constructing large lakes such as Lakes Pichhola, Jaisamand, Fatehsagar, and Umaidsagar etc. In Jaipur, the Lake Mansagar was constructed more than 400 years ago, even before the founding of this city. Lake Jamwa Ramgarh was created more than 125 years ago for supply of drinking water to the city. The largest concentration of man-made lakes is in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Today, India has more than 1.3 million man-made lakes and smaller water bodies.

It is a matter of great concern that in the wake of urbanization and industrialization, water bodies have degraded to a great extent. Encroachments up to the lakeshore, disposal of solid wastes, and discharge of domestic and industrial wastes have grown enormously. The situation is certainly not unique to India or this part of the world. About 50 years ago, the lakes of Europe and North America had become highly polluted. There was eutrophication of lakes due to influx of agricultural nutrients and detergents into lakes in Europe. The Great Lakes of North America were similarly affected by the discharge of domestic wastewaters. Elsewhere also, lakes have suffered severe degradation in different ways. Lake Biwa in Japan was degraded by domestic sewage. Great efforts have gone into the rehabilitation of some of these lakes and in improving their water quality. This opens up possibilities of working out arrangements of "Twinning Lakes" - where a partnership could be formed between a Lake in a developed country with a Lake in a developing country. The developed country involved in this partnership while sharing its experiences, should commit to make available finances and technology for the conservation of the Lake in the developing country.

Global warming and climate change pose a major threat to the future of lakes and wetlands worldwide. The recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that global warming will have significant impacts on freshwater resources and inland aquatic ecosystems. The increased variability in precipitation and rising temperatures will melt away glaciers, initially increasing the runoff in the river but followed by the drying up of rivers. Lakes and wetlands shall undergo significant changes in their water area coverage and their biological diversity. We should consider measures to counter the impact of climate change as a major component of any integrated management plan particularly for fresh water resources.

There is a need for effective legal protection to save lakes. We, in India, are conscious of problems related to lakes and wetlands and have initiated remedial actions. India was among the first countries to enact comprehensive legislation for the control of water pollution and joined the global conservation efforts by becoming a party to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1981. A National Wetlands Committee was set up and a separate National Lake Conservation Programme was launched for pollution abatement and catchment improvement, mostly focusing on urban lakes. We are now working on a regulatory framework under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 that will help conserve lakes and wetlands throughout the country. Our efforts in restoring several lakes have been recognized globally. Natural forces had affected Lake Chilka and closed its connection with the Bay of Bengal, thereby reducing the exchange of water and altering salinity levels. The hydrological restoration of Lake Chilka was immediately undertaken for which the Ramsar Conservation Award was given to India. Similarly, the restoration of Lake Bhopal, with the active involvement of local communities and by adopting a lake basin approach has been internationally acclaimed. We would, however, like to learn from the experiences of other countries in lake restoration and make use of approaches, methods and technologies that suit our specific conditions. The campaign for saving lakes is an area for global action. Time has come to seriously consider steps for international cooperation to ensure water security. Sharing of technologies and capacity building should form the major plank for such cooperation.

We believe that the involvement of all stakeholders - individuals, local communities, NGOs and Governments - is necessary to restore the health of our lakes. People's participation is the key to success for preserving lakes in a sustainable manner. This demands a behavioral pattern where people consciously do not litter water bodies by any kind of activity whether individual or collective. The involvement of local bodies would give them a sense of ownership and pride in the operation, maintenance and management of lakes. NGOs could contribute not only by creating awareness about the need to preserve lakes but also by helping local communities in capacity building. Clearly, we all need to work collectively to succeed in the "Save the Lakes Movement". Let this World Conference be the harbinger for such an awakening.

I hope the deliberations over the weeklong Conference will bring new insights and ideas for conserving water bodies and restoring them to a better functional state - if not to their pristine state. I am confident that the Conference will be able to make practical recommendations. With these words, I have great pleasure in inaugurating the Conference.

JAI HIND !