India gets most Ramsar sites in Asia: What are they?

With 10 more wetlands of international importance added to the list, India now has a total of 64 Ramsar sites, the most in Asia, the Union Environment Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Ramsar list aims at "developing and maintaining an international network of wetlands, which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life, through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits".

The 10 new sites- six in Tamil Nadu and one each in Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha- cover an area of 12,50,361 hectares in the country.

Every environment lover will feel happy that 10 more wetlands in India have been designated as Ramsar sites. Last month, 5 sites achieved the same recognition. This will deepen our commitment to protect our natural surroundings. pic.twitter.com/vf7AKeXT2z

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2022

"Designation of these sites would help in conservation and management of wetlands and wise use of their resources. Now, India stands at first position jointly with China," the ministry said in a statement.

What are Ramsar sites?

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975.

It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971. There are a total of 171 signatories to the convention. New Delhi signed it on February 1, 1982. according to officials.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”

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”.

Ramsar sites in India

With the 10 new sites, there are a total of 64 Ramsar sites across 23 states in India.

The new Indian wetlands which have bagged the coveted tag are Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, Vembanur Wetland Complex, Vellode Bird Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Udayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu; Satkosia Gorge in Odisha; Nanda Lake in Goa; Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Karnataka and Sirpur Wetland in Madhya Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh has the most number of Ramsar sites at 10, followed by Tamil Nadu that has 10 such sites. Punjab has six, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir have four each, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha have three wetlands each.

Rajasthan, West Bengal and Maharashtra have two Ramsar sites each. Rest of the Ramsar sites have been marked in Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Ladakh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Uttarakhand with one wetland in each state/UT.

With inputs from agencies

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