International Film Festival and Forum on Environment and Wildlife, Vatavaran Was inaugurated today at Paryavaran Bhawan in New Delhi. The theme for the three-day film festival is “Wetlands for Life”, focusing on the awareness and conservation of the wetlands eco-system. Speaking at the event, the Director General of Forest in the Ministry of Environment, Jitendra Kumar highlighted that wetlands are very important to India due to their ecological and economic benefits. He added that around 6 per cent of Indians are directly dependent on Wetlands for livelihood, which makes their conservation even more vital. Mr Kumar has hoped that the film festival can host discussions on meaningful issues and formulate conservation strategies. 

Talking to the media, the Climate and Environment Head of the Department at the German Embassy to India, Taina Dyckhoff said the bilateral cooperation between India and Germany has been very successful in Environment and Wetlands conservation. She said that film is an impactful tool to discuss such issues with the public.