IAS Gyan

Daily News Analysis

Ramsar Convention

14th August, 2021 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Context:

  1. Four more Indian sites - two each from Haryana and Gujarat - have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, taking the number of such sites in the country to
  • Two wetlands in Haryana - Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon and Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in Jhajjar and Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat

 

Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

  • It is a human-made freshwater
  • It is also the largest in Haryana.
  • Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.
  • The site supports more than 10 globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

 

Sultanpur National Park in Haryana

  • It supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles.
  • More than 10 of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing, and the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Saker Falcon, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Black-bellied Tern.

 

Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat

  • It lies on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found here.
  • It supports more than 30 threatened waterbird species, such as the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture and Sociable Lapwing, and the vulnerable Sarus Crane, Common Pochard and Lesser White-fronted Goose.

 

Wadhvana Wetland in Gujarat

  • It 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, the vulnerable Common Pochard, and the near-threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Grey-headed Fish-eagle and Ferruginous Duck.

 

The Ramsar Convention

  • It is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
  • It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1971.
  • The aim of the Ramsar list is “to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits”.

Ramsar sites in India:

Sl. No.

Name of Site

State Location

1

Asan Conservation Reserve

Uttarakhand

2

Asthamudi Wetland

Kerala

3

Beas Conservation Reserve

Punjab

4

Bhitarkanika Mangroves

Orissa

5

Bhoj Wetlands

Madhya Pradesh

6

Chandertal Wetland

Himachal Pradesh

7

Chilka Lake

Orissa

8

Deepor Beel

Assam

9

East Kolkata Wetlands

West Bengal

10

Harike Lake

Punjab

11

Hokera Wetland

Jammu and Kashmir

12

Kabartal Wetland

Bihar

13

Kanjli Lake

Punjab

14

Keoladeo Ghana NP

Rajasthan

15

Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve

Punjab

16

Kolleru Lake

Andhra Pradesh

17

Loktak Lake

Manipur

18

Lonar Lake

Maharashtra

19

Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary

Gujarat

20

Nandur Madhameshwar

Maharashtra

21

Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary

Punjab

22

Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary

Uttar Pradesh

23

Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary

Uttar Pradesh

24

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary

Tamil Nadu

25

Pong Dam Lake

Himachal Pradesh

26

Renuka Wetland

Himachal Pradesh

27

Ropar Lake

Punjab

28

Rudrasagar Lake

Tripura

29

Saman Bird Sanctuary

Uttar Pradesh

30

Samaspur Bird Sanctuary

Uttar Pradesh

31

Sambhar Lake

Rajasthan

32

Sandi Bird Sanctuary

Uttar Pradesh

33

Sarsai Nawar Jheel

Uttar Pradesh

34

Sasthamkotta Lake

Kerala

35

Sunderbans Wetland

West Bengal

36

Surinsar-Mansar Lakes

Jammu and Kashmir

37

Sur Sarovar

Uttar Pradesh

38

Tso Kar Wetland Complex

Ladakh

39

Tsomoriri Lake

Jammu and Kashmir

40

Upper Ganga River
(Brijghat to Narora Stretch)

Uttar Pradesh

41

Vembanad Kol Wetland

Kerala

42

Wular Lake

Jammu & Kashmir

 

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/four-more-indian-sites-added-to-ramsar-list-as-wetlands-of-international-importance/article35907804.ece?homepage=true