HUDA to conduct biodiversity study of Hussain Sagar lake

Hyderabad, Feb 2 (UNI) The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for undertaking a comprehensive biodiversity study of the Hussain Sagar lake in connection with the World Wetlands Day.

The Buddha Purnima Project Authority and WWF-India celebrated the World Wetlands Day here at Necklace road, which saw the participation of a large number of school students.

HUDA Vice-Chairman Jayesh Ranjan said the WWF would undertake seasonal study of the biodiversity of Hussain Sagar Lake over a span of 12 months starting from today and ending on February 2 next year.

Mr Ranjan said the biodiversity study would involve recording all available species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and floral species through established study methods.

A study of micro-organism, especially phytoplankton and zooplankton, would also be included, he added.

The World Wetlands Day was celebrated on February 2 every year, by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands of international importance, an inter-governmental agreement, conserving 1636 globally important wetlands to commemorate its signing in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.

The theme for this year's WWD, as declared by the convention was ''Fish for tomorrow'', highlighting important wetland issues such as conservation of aquatic resources, flood regulation, water management, among others.

The event concluded with a nature walk, painting and essay writing competitions for children.

UNI