NEW DELHI: Ahead of the World Wetlands Day on Sunday, four more wetlands have got an international tag of Ramsar Convention sites, taking the total number of such globally recognised wetlands in the country to 89.
The four new sites in the list are: Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary and ?Therthangal Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu; ?Khecheopalri wetland in Sikkim, and ?Udhwa Lake in Jharkhand.
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav while announcing the new addition to the Ramsar list on Friday said it was yet another example of how ‘Prakriti’ (nature) and ‘Pragati’ (development) march ahead together under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Of the 89 Ramsar sites, Tamil Nadu has become the state with the maximum number of such Ramsar sites (20) in India. Sikkim and Jharkhand have added their first Ramsar sites with the new additions in the list.
Globally, there are 2,529 such designated wetlands. India has the highest number of such Ramsar wetlands in Asia and third highest in the world after the UK (176) and Mexico (144). The number of Indian sites in the list has increased from 26 to 89 in the last over ten years, of which 47 have been added in the last over three years.
Wetlands are land areas covered by water, either temporarily/ seasonally or permanently. These are critical ecosystems that play an imperative role in maintaining ecological balance, supporting biodiversity, and providing various ecosystem services such as flood control, water supply, food, fibre and raw materials.
The Convention was adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. It provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources across its 172-member countries including India.
