RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India

RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India

What is the RAMSAR Wetland Site?

Ramsar site is a wetland site designated for international importance by the Ramsar convention.

Ramsar Convention: Ramsar Convention (established in 1971 by UNESCO, came in force in 1975) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands that recognizes the fundamental ecological functions and economic, cultural, recreational, and scientific values of these sites.

• The name Ramsar was given after the name of the city Ramsar in Iran, the treaty signed there in 1971.
• Every year 2nd February is celebrated as world wetland Day, which was celebrated for the first time in 1997.
• There are currently over 2,400 Ramsar Sites around the world. They cover over 2.5 million square kilometers
• The most number of sites in the United Kingdom i.e. 175 and Mexico is 142. 
• The world’s first Ramsar Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.
• The largest Sites are Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 square kilometers), and Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada; these Sites each cover over 60,000 square km. Others are as small as one hectare.

It entered into force in India on 1 February 1982. India currently has 46 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1,083,322 hectares.

What is Wetland?

Wetland is a distinct ecosystem flooded by water permanently or seasonally. These include flooded forests, floodplains, marshes, rivers and lakes, coral reefs, etc. The hydrophytes, hydric soil, and water-saturated land are the main characteristics of this land.

What is the importance of Wetlands?

Wetland plays an important role in the ecosystem, they improve natural water quality, protects from flood, controls shoreline erosion. It helps in recreation and aesthetic appreciation and natural products without any cost.

World’s first wetland site?

The world’s first site was the Coburg Peninsula in Australia, 1974. 

What are the latest updates about Indian Ramsar sites?

• 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on 2nd February 2021, this day is also celebrated as World Wetland Day. India established the Centre for Wetland Conservation & Management under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in Chennai at National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).

• One of the Ramsar sites in India Sambhar lake is in news because of the deterioration of salt mining.
• Uttar Pradesh has the most number of Ramsar sites, it has 8 Ramsar wetland sites.
• Four new Wetland sites of India are added to the list.

Which is the first Ramsar site in India?

The Chilka Lake in Orissa and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan are recognized as the first Ramsar site in India.

The smallest and largest wetland in India!

Sunderbans is the largest and Renuka wetland in Himachal Pradesh is the smallest Ramsar wetland in India.

List of 46 Ramsar Wetland sites in India

Four New Ramsar Sites in India: 

Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Bhindawas wildlife sanctuary supports more than ten globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis), Pallas’s fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) and black-bellied tern (Sterna acuticauda).
• The Site regularly supports more than 1.7% of the biogeographic population of greylag goose (Anser anser) and more than 2% of the biogeographic population of Indian cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis).
• Mammals recorded at the Site include nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), common mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), and black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis).

Sultanpur National Park:  

• The Sultanpur National Park supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory, and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles.
• More than ten of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarious), and the endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), saker falcon (Falco cherrug), Pallas’s fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) and black-bellied tern (Sterna acuticauda).
• The Site regularly supports more than 7% of the biogeographic population of bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) and more than 8% of the biogeographic population of greylag goose (Anser anser).

The Thol Lake  wildlife sanctuary:

• This shallow reservoir dominated by open water areas was originally constructed for irrigation in 1912.
• In 1988, it was declared as a wildlife sanctuary to protect the birdlife found there: it is on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found, making up some 57% of all the bird species of Gujarat.
• More than 110 waterbird species have been recorded, about 43% of India’s waterbird species, with almost 30% of those species being migratory waterbirds.
• More than 30 of the waterbirds are threatened, such as the critically endangered white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), and the vulnerable sarus crane (Grus antigone), common pochard (Aythya farina) and lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus). 
• This wetland regularly hosts more than 1% of the population of species including glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).

Wadhvana wetland:

• The Wadhvana wetland is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory waterbirds, including over 80 species that migrate on the Central Asian Flyway.
• They include some threatened or near-threatened species such as the endangered Pallas’s fish-eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus), the vulnerable common pochard (Aythya ferina), and the near-threatened Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), grey-headed fish-eagle (Icthyophaga ichthyaetus), and ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca).
• In addition, the red-crested pochard (Netta rufina), a duck that is otherwise rare in Western India, is regularly recorded here during winter. Resident birds include the vulnerable river tern (Sterna aurantia) and sarus crane (Grus antigone) and the near-threatened black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus).
• Almost 46,000 individual birds were recorded during a mid-winter waterbird census conducted in 2020. 

References – http://moef.gov.in/en/ 

https://www.ramsar.org/sites-countries/ramsar-sites-around-the-world

https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris-search/ramsar%2520sites%2520in%2520India%25202021?pagetab=1

(Source:  Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India)

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