10 more wetlands added to Ramsar sites: Prakash Javadekar
The Ramsar Convention, signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed to preserve the ecological character of wetlands of international importance in the signatory countries.
Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday announced that the Ramsar Convention has declared 10 more wetlands from India as sites of “international importance”, taking the total number of Ramsar sites in India to 37.
The Ramsar Convention, signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed to preserve the ecological character of wetlands of international importance in the signatory countries. The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and sustain a network of wetlands by maintaining components of their ecosystem and processes. The wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.
“Happy to inform that Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance for conservation of global biological diversity. It is an acknowledgement of India’s commitment towards conservation and sustainable use of its wetland,” Javadekar tweeted.
The minister said the conservation of wetlands would also go a long way in boosting the recently launched ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme, which aims to provide a piped water connection to every household by 2024. With the addition of the 10 sites, the total protected wetland area in the country covers a surface area of 1,067,939 hectares.
The new sites added are: Nandur Madhameshwar in Maharashtra, Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal in Punjab, Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and SarsaiNawar in Uttar Pradesh.
Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem benefits such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharging, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation. They are also one of the major supplies of fresh water.
In the past six months, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has prepared a four-pronged strategy for the restoration of wetlands which includes preparing baseline data, wetland health cards, enlisting wetland mitras and preparing targeted integrated management plans.
