Plea seeks stay on Jewar Airport until wetland protected, UP govt to inform about status in 4 weeks

Subject :Environment

Section: Protected Area

Context:

A petition has been filed to stay the construction of Jewar Airport until Dhanauri Wetland is granted protection.
Now, NGT has granted 4 week’s time to U.P. state government to inform about the status of notifying the Dhanauri wetland of Greater Noida as Ramsar wetland site.
The proposal for the same is pending before the Uttar Pradesh Wetland authority.

Dhanauri wetland:

Dhanauri wetland is also known as Balmiki Ramsar Wetland and Sarus Sanctuary/Conservation Reserve.
Mapped in the National Inventory of Wetlands and spread across around 98 hectares, the Dhanauri Wetlands is located among the villages of Dhanauri, Thasrana, and Aminpur Bangar in Dankaur Tehsil, Greater Noida, Gautam Budha Nagar.
Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the land-owning agency, gave a no-objection certificate on June 9, 2022 to declare it as a Ramsar Site and Sanctuary.
The conservation report on the impact of the airport project on Dhanauri Wetlands had been prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
Dhanauri Wetland is home to over 217 species of birds and has been recognised as an important birding area by Bird Life International.
Dhanauri Wetlands is home to over 150 Sarus Crane, which is UP’s state bird.

Ramsar site:

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation of wetlands and their resources.
The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the convention which adopts decisions (site designations, resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives.
In 2022, COP14 was co-held in Wuhan, China, and Geneva, Switzerland.

Source: IE