Three more Ramsar wetland sites now in India, taking total to 85

• The Environment Ministry declared three more wetlands in India as ‘Ramsar sites’.

Highlights:

• This addition of three more Ramsar sites brings the total number of such sites in India to 85.
• The three new sites are the Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary; the Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary in TamilNadu; and the Tawa Reservoir in Madhya Pradesh.
• India is one of the ‘contracting parties’ to the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.
  • It became a signatory in 1982.
• From 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites in the country.
• From 2014 to 2024, the country has added 59 new wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites. Currently, Tamil Nadu harbours the maximum number of Ramsar sites (18 sites), followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 sites).
• India’s Ramsar wetlands comprise around 10% of the total wetland area in the country across 18 States.
• No other South Asian country has as many sites though this has much to do with India’s geographical breadth and tropical diversity.
• The United Kingdom (175) and Mexico (142) smaller countries than India have the maximum Ramsar sites, whereas Bolivia spans the largest area, with 148,000 sq. km. under the Convention’s protection.
• Being designated a Ramsar site doesn’t necessarily invite extra international funds but the Centre and States must ensure these tracts of land are conserved, and spared manmade encroachment.
• Acquiring this label also helps with a locale’s tourism potential and its international visibility.
• To be Ramsar site, however, it must meet at least one of the nine criteria defined by the Ramsar Convention of 1971, including
  • support vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered species,threatened ecological communities
  • regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds
  • is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery migration path on which fish stocks are dependent upon.
• The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation, estimates India’s wetlands to span around 1,52,600 sq. km., which is 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country.
• A little over two-fifths are inland natural wetlands and about a quarter are coastal wetlands. India has 19 types of wetlands, with Gujarat having the maximum area, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat serve as important spaces for migratory birds.
• Wetlands are also known to have among the highest soil-carbon densities and therefore play a major role in buffering carbon dioxide emissions.

Prelims Takeaway

• Ramsar sites