5 New Indian Wetlands Recognized as Ramsar Sites

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Indian Wetlands Recognized as Ramsar Sites- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Environment- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Recently, government informed that five new Indian sites have been recognised as wetlandsof international importance, as part of the Ramsar Convention.

Total Ramsar Wetland in India: With recognition of five new Indian Wetlands as the Ramsar Sites of International Importance, India has now 54 Ramsar sites in the country from the previous 49.
List of the New Ramsar Sites: The Newly Inducted wetland sites are from-
- Three wetlands from Tamil Nadu-
  - Karikili Bird Sanctuary,
  - Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest and
  - Pichavaram Mangrove).
- One in Mizoram-
  - Pala wetland
- One in Madhya Pradesh-
  - Sakhya Sagar

Ramsar recognition is the identification of wetlands around the world, which are of international importance, especially if they provide habitat to waterfowl(about 180 species of birds).
There is international interest and cooperation in the conservation of such wetlands and a judicious use of their resources.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is the oldest of the modern global intergovernmental environmental agreements.
The treaty was negotiated through the 1960s by countries and non – governmental organizations concerned about the increasing loss and degradation of wetland habitat for migratory waterbirds.
It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
Since then, the Convention on Wetlands has been known as the Ramsar Convention.
The Contracting Parties approved the Fourth Strategic Plan for 2016-2024 at COP12.
Ramsar Convention’s broad aims are to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain.

According to WWF, a wetland is a place where the land is covered by water, either salt, fresh or somewhere in between.
Marshes and ponds, the edge of a lake or ocean, the delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood—all of these are wetlands.

Under the Ramsar convention, wetlands have been classified into following three categories:

Marine/Coastal Wetlands: includes permanent shallow marine waters; coral reefs; estuarine waters; intertidal marshes, coastal lagoons, among others.
Inland wetlands: includes Permanent inland deltas; Permanent rivers/streams/creeks; alpine wetlands, tundra wetlands; waterfalls; geothermal wetlands, among others.
Human-made wetlands: aquaculture ponds; irrigated land; water storage areas; wastewater treatment areas; Canals and drainage channels, ditches; among others.