Gujarat Forest Department has launched a plastic waste management programme around Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary to prevent plastic entering the wetland and to create local livelihoods. Under a Rs 29.4 mn scheme the department will buy plastic from villagers, segregate it and transport it to a collection centre for processing. The project is approved under the Project for Eco-Restoration in Gujarat (PERG) with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and will involve the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary Wildlife Division with gram panchayats and Eco-Development Committees. A Plastic Waste Collection Centre has been set up at Kayla village in Viramgam taluka and the department will place bins across participating villages. The programme covers Vekariya, Kayla, Shahpur, Dharji and Meni in Ahmedabad district and Nani Kathechi and Ranagadh in Surendranagar district. Eco-Development Committees will appoint local volunteers known as Swachhta Praharis to encourage segregation and ensure dry plastic is collected. The department will collect and transport plastic from villages to the collection centre following a detailed work study to streamline operations. Officials said the initiative is a source-level intervention that will create a chain involving residents, volunteers, village institutions and the Forest Department and is expected to reduce plastic entering Nalsarovar each year. The project includes a waste collection shed, processing unit, compound wall, security cabin, water and electricity connections, processing machinery and safety equipment. Nalsarovar was designated a Ramsar Site in 2012 and lies along the Central Asian Flyway, serving as a crucial wintering and stopover habitat for migratory birds. During the 2025–26 migratory season officials recorded 270 bird species and an estimated 642,232 birds across 50 survey zones, an increase of 26 species and 228,399 birds compared with 2023–24. The wetland has recorded sightings of rare and globally threatened species including Yellow-breasted Bunting, Sociable Lapwing, Indian Skimmer, Baer's Pochard, Dalmatian Pelican and Saras Crane and the programme is intended to protect this ecological significance.