KHIJADIYA & BAKHIRA BIRD SANCTUARY

KHIJADIYA & BAKHIRA BIRD SANCTUARY

TOPIC: Environment

Context- The Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh have been listed as Wetlands of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

Concept-

• The total number of Ramsar sites in India goes up to 48.

Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary-

• Khijadiya, which is part of the Central Asian Flyway, has become the fourth wetland of Gujarat to get the Ramsar tag.
  • Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, Thol Wildlife Sanctuary and Wadhwana wetland are the other Ramsar sites in the state.
• Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary is a freshwater wetland near the coast of the Gulf of Kutch, was formed following the creation of a bund (dike) in 1920 by the then ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Nawanagar to protect farmlands from saltwater ingress.
• The sanctuary is now part of Marine National Park, Jamnagar, the first marine national park in the country.

Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary

• BakhiraWildlife Sanctuary is a freshwater marsh in the SantKabir Nagar district, is the largest natural floodplain wetland of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• The Sanctuary was established in 1980 and is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972); an “eco-sensitive zone” extends up to a kilometre around its boundary.

About Wetlands:

• Wetlands are ecosystems saturated with water, either seasonally or permanently.
• They include mangroves, marshes, rivers, lakes, deltas, floodplains and flooded forests, rice-fields, coral reefs, marine areas no deeper than 6 metresat low tide, as well as human-made wetlands such as waste-water treatment ponds and reservoirs.
• Though they cover only around 6% of the Earth’s land surface, 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.

Ramsar convention:

• It is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
• It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on 2 February 1971.
• Known officially as ‘the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’ (or, more recently, just ‘the Convention on Wetlands’), it came into force in 1975.

Montreux Record:

• Montreux Record under the Convention is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
• It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.
• The Montreux Record was established by Recommendation of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (1990).
• Sites may be added to and removed from the Record only with the approval of the Contracting Parties in which they lie.