Kabartal in Bihar’s Begusarai district has been recognised as a wetland of international importance — the first such wetland in the state — under the Ramsar Convention, according to the Union Environment Ministry.
The Ramsar Convention 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 February 2, 1971.
“Pleased to inform that Bihar has got its first Ramsar site. Kabartal in Begusarai becomes wetland of International importance,” Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted. “It is an important wetland of the Central Asian Flyway for the population of migratory birds & biodiversity. With this now India has 39 Ramsar sites.”
The 39 Ramsar sites in India include
- Chilika Lake in Odisha
- Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan
- Harike Lake in Punjab
- Loktak Lake in Manipur
- Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir
