Four new sites of India added to Ramsar list as ‘wetlands of International importance’
- Four more wetlands from India have been added to the list of Ramsar sites, giving it the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’. These sites are:
- Thol, Gujarat
- Wadhwana, Gujarat
- Sultanpur, Haryana
- Bhindawas, Haryana
- With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in India have reached 46, covering a surface area of 1,083,322 hectares.
What are Ramsar Sites
- A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The name Ramsar comes from Ramsar City of Iran, where this treaty was signed.
- The Convention on Wetlands is also known as the Ramsar Convention. It is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO and came into force in 1975.
- Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.
- The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain 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.
Source: PIB
Points to Remember
- How many wetlands from India have been recognised as Ramsar sites? 46
- Ramsar Convention is established by which organisation? UNESCO