Kathmandu, April 1

After the Department of Soil Conversation and Watershed Management recently announced that it will be declaring certain watershed areas in the country as protected, the department has decided to pick Fewa Lake of Pokhara as the first watershed area.

The department said that Fewa Lake was chosen to begin the project because of its popularity.

“We are working on demarcating the boundary of Fewa Lake, after which it will be declared as the first watershed area he country with a comprehensive action plan,” Director General of the department Bijaya Raj Poudyal told The Himalayan Times, “We are selecting vulnerable watershed areas that are in need of immediate intervention for their protection.”

Poudyal said that after Fewa Lake, the department will immediately work on forming a soil conservation and watershed committee for Kulekhani. “Kulekhani is next in line after Fewa Lake for this project,” he said.

Nepal has ten areas listed as Ramsar sites under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for watershed protection

Poudyal said that Fewa Lake is listed as a Ramsar site, a list of unique or rare wetland types all over the world. The lake is also facing a great threat of erosion from its watershed Panchase, he added.

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the protection and sustainable use of key wetland areas. Nepal has ten sites listed as a Ramsar site under the convention, including Fewa Lake.