India and Germany on Tuesday signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on the conservation and wise use of wetlands of international importance, marking a fresh step towards strengthening scientific cooperation and sharing best practices in wetland management.The declaration was signed during the 4th Indo-German Environment Forum (IGEF), the highest-level bilateral platform between the two countries on environmental policy. The forum has been convened since 2008.Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India attached great importance to its partnership with Germany on environmental sustainability, noting that bilateral cooperation had been sustained over the years and expanded into newer areas of environmental governance.Addressing the forum, Yadav said environmental sustainability could no longer be pursued in isolation and underscored the need for international cooperation to build a climate-resilient future. He said India’s development experience had demonstrated that environmental ambition and economic growth need not be competing objectives. India, he added, had been consistently meeting its commitments under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) ahead of schedule, reflecting the scale of environmental transformation underway in the country.Yadav also flagged the challenge of decarbonising energy-intensive sectors such as steel, cement and chemicals in the next phase of industrial transition. He called for the forum to focus on strengthening the knowledge and evidence base for environmental decision-making, advancing practical and scalable solutions for climate action, biodiversity conservation and resource efficiency, and enhancing institutional capacities for effective implementation.German Minister for Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Carsten Schneider said India’s rapid expansion of renewable energy had made it a role model for other regions of the world.Schneider added India and Germany shared the common goal of ensuring that sustainable development went hand in hand with economic growth. Welcoming the expanded cooperation on climate adaptation and wetland protection, he said the two countries would work on joint projects and share knowledge and experience.