On 27 March 2026, the River Cities Alliance (RCA) organised a webinar titled Wetland Management for Sustainable Urban Water & River Futures as part of its ongoing knowledge series. The session highlighted the critical role of wetlands in ensuring biodiversity conservation, water security, and climate resilience, while also supporting groundwater recharge, flood regulation, and livelihoods.
The webinar drew over 70 participants, including officials from RCA member cities, and featured insights from WWF-India’s work on wetland conservation. The expert speaker, Dr. Amit Dubey, Head – Wetlands, WWF-India, shared experiences on integrating science, policy, and on-ground action for wetland restoration and management across diverse landscapes, including Ramsar sites and urban water bodies.
The discussion focused on community-led stewardship models, scientific assessment and monitoring of wetland ecosystems, and collaborative governance frameworks involving government agencies, civil society, and local stakeholders. It also highlighted context-specific, low-cost, and low-maintenance interventions for wetland conservation, along with existing policy and financial mechanisms and government schemes that support such initiatives in India.
Overall, the webinar reinforced the importance of wetlands as vital components of urban water systems and underscored the need for integrated, participatory approaches to ensure their long-term sustainability.
Exciting News: Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad), one of the RCA members has been awarded the runners-up position for the 2023-2024 WRI Ross Centre Prize for Cities for collaborative efforts in reviving and restoring the Kham River (Read more)