The court established the need for a dedicated authority to manage wetland conservation under specific statutes and international conventions.

1. This Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerns Ashtamudi wetland which was notified as a Ramsar site in the year 2002. The Petitioner seeks to highlight the depletion and deterioration of the Ashtamudi wetlands caused due to various factors such as, pollution from drainage discharge, encroachment, etc.

2. We have heard Mr. Ajmal A., learned counsel for the Petitioner, Mr. Abhishek V. S. representing Mr. T. Naveen, learned Standing Counsel for the Pollution Control Board, Mr. V. Tekchand, learned Senior Government Pleader appearing for the State, Ms. Hasna Jabit representing Mr. M. R. Sasith, learned counsel for Respondent Nos.10, 12, 16 & 19, Ms. Jolima George representing Mr. Manoj Ramaswamy, learned counsel for Respondent Nos.15 & 21, Mr. K. V. Anil Kumar, learned counsel for Respondent No.14 and Mr. Ameer Salim representing Mr. Bijith S.Khan, learned counsel for Respondent No.17.

3. The learned counsel for the Petitioner contends that a specific Ashtamudi Authority to oversee the conservation and protection of the wetland be constituted. The learned Senior Government Pleader submitted that since a statutory Wetland Authority is already established under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, the constitution of a separate Authority may not be necessary.

4. Having been notified as a Ramsar site, the wetland falls within the ambit of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 (Rules of 2017) framed under S.3 and S.5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (Act 29 of 1986). R.3(a) of the Rules of 2017 makes the rules applicable to wetlands recognized under the Ramsar Convention. The Ramsar Convention emphasizes that wetlands being dynamic areas open to influence from natural and human factors, in order to maintain their biological diversity and productivity, management planning process is necessary. The management plan has to be part of a continuing management planning process. The plan should be reviewed periodically and adjusted to take into account the monitoring process, changing priorities, and emerging issues. The Ramsar Convention emphasizes that an authority should be designated to implement the management planning process, and this authority should be clearly identified and communicated to all stakeholders. Such an authority is particularly important in the case of a large wetland (such as Ashtamudi), where there is a need to take into account all interests, user groups, and pressures on the wetland, in a complex ownership and management situation. Thus, the Ramsar Convention emphasizes site specific management plan and an authority to oversee its implementation.

5. Apart from the Convention, the statutory Rules of 2017 also recognize the need for focused attention on a particular wetland and the formulation of management plan. Under R.2(e) of Rules of 2017, an 'integrated management plan' is defined to mean a document which describes strategies and actions for achieving wise use of the wetland. This plan will include objectives of site management; management actions required to achieve the objectives; factors that affect, or may affect, the various site features; monitoring requirements for detecting changes in ecological character and for measuring the effectiveness of management; and resources for management implementation. The State Wetland Authority, constituted under R.5 of Rules of 2017, is entrusted with the supervision in respect of wetlands within the State and is also responsible for developing an integrated management plan for each of the notified wetlands and identified mechanism for implementation of the management plan and for coordinating the implementation of the integ