Recently, four more wetlands from India get recognition from the Ramsar Secretariat as Ramsar sites.
Haryana got Ramsar sites for the first time. Gujarat has got three more sites after Nalsarovar, which was declared an international wetland in 2012.
There are four Ramsar sites as wetlands of international importance are:
- Sultanpur National Park, Haryana
- Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana
- Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat
- Wadhwana Wetland, Gujarat
Total Number of Ramsar Sites of India:
With this, the number of Ramsar sites in India is 46 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,083,322 hectares.
About the four new Ramsar Sites:
Sultanpur National Park, Haryana:
» The National Park supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory watebirds at critical stages of their life cycles.
» More than ten of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing, and the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Saker Falcon, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Black-bellied Tern.
Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana:
» It is the largest wetland in Haryana, a human-made freshwater wetland. Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.
» The site supports more than ten globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.
Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat:
» Wildlife Sanctuary lies on the Central Asian Flyway.
» More than 320 bird species can be found here.
» The wetland supports more 30 threatened waterbird species, such as the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture and Sociable Lapwing , and the vulnerable Sarus Crane, Common Pochard and Lesser White-fronted Goose.
Wadhvana Wetland, Gujarat:
» The wetland is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory waterbirds, including over 80 species that migrate on the Central Asian Flyway.
» They include some threatened or near-threatened species such as the endangered Pallas’s fish-Eagle, the vulnerable Common Pochard, and the near-threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Grey-headed Fish-eagle and Ferruginous Duck.
Aim of the Ramsar list:
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”.
