India adds five more Ramsar sites, ups tally to 54

India adds five more Ramsar sites, ups tally to 54

Subject :Polity

Section: National body

Context:

• These are the Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest and Pichavaram Mangrove in Tamil Nadu, the Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh and Pala Wetland in Mizoram.
• India’s Ramsar wetlands are spread over 11,000 sq km — 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.
• India has 19 types of wetlands whereas Gujarat has the maximum area followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• 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 protection.
• Criteria to be designated as RAMSAR sites
  • To be Ramsar site, however, it must meet at least one of nine criteria as defined by the Ramsar Convention of 1961, such as supporting vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities or, if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds or, is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks are dependent upon.
• Significance of being RAMSAR site
  • Being designated a Ramsar site does not necessarily invite extra international funds but
  • that States — and the Centre — must ensure that these tracts of land are conserved and spared from man-made encroachment.
  • Acquiring this label also helps with a locale’s tourism potential and its international visibility.
• Significance of Wetland on Ecosystem
  • Wetlands are also known to have among the highest soil-carbon densities and therefore play a major role in buffering carbon dioxide emissions.
  • Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat serve as important spaces for migratory birds.
• Definition of Wetlands, according to the Environment Ministry
  • They are an area of marsh, fen, peatland 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 metres,
  • but does not include river channels, paddy fields, human-made water bodies/ tanks specifically constructed for drinking water purposes and structures specifically constructed for aquaculture, salt production, recreation and irrigation purposes.”