Two Indian sanctuaries get Ramsar tag

Hyderabad: Recently, two Indian sites – Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in UP have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Read about wetlands and the new Ramsar Convention and the new Ramsar sites in detail…

Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where the land is covered by water.

Termed ‘kidneys of landscape’, wetlands contribute to water purification, water regulation, biodiversity, aesthetics and recreation, according to the United Nations. Ramsar Convention is a convention on wetlands that was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar which came into force in 1975.

Importance

• Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems that provide the world with nearly two-thirds of its fish harvest.
• They function as natural barriers that trap and slowly release surface water, rain, snowmelt, groundwater and flood waters.
• They are critical to human and planet life. More than one billion people depend on them for a living and 40% of the world’s species live and breed in wetlands.
• They are a vital source for food, raw materials, genetic resources for medicines, and hydropower.
• They play an important role in transport, tourism and the cultural and spiritual well-being of people.

Threats to Wetlands

• Urbanization: Wetlands near urban centres are under increasing developmental pressure for residential, industrial and commercial facilities. Urban wetlands are essential for preserving public water supplies.
• Agriculture: Vast stretches of wetlands have been converted to paddy fields. Construction of a large number of reservoirs, canals and dams to provide for irrigation significantly affected wetlands.
• Climate Change: Increased air temperature; shifts in precipitation; increased frequency of storms, droughts, and floods affect wetlands.

Conservation Efforts

Ramsar Convention: The Convention came in to force in 1975. The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

New Ramsar Sites

• Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in UP provides a safe wintering and staging ground for a large number of species of the Central Asian Flyway
• Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary (Gujarat) is a coastal wetland with rich avifaunal diversity providing a safe habitat to endangered and vulnerable species.

Status of Wetlands in India

• India has a network of 49 Ramsar sites covering an area of 10,93,636 hectares, the highest in South Asia.
• In India, according to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), wetlands are 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country.
• India has 19 types of wetlands. In state-wise distribution of wetlands, Gujarat is at the top (17.56% of total geographical area of the state or 22.7%of total wetlands areas of the country thanks to a long coastline. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Kolleru lake is a famous Ramsar site in Andhra Pradesh.

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