The Environment Ministry on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) said that three more wetlands in India have been designated ‘Ramsar sites’. This brings the total number of such sites in India to 85. The three new sites are — the Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary; the Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu; and the Tawa Reservoir in Madhya Pradesh.
“As the nation gears up to celebrate its Independence Day, thrilled to share that we have added three Ramsar sites to our network. This takes our tally to 85 Ramsar sites, covering an area of 13,58,068 hectare in India,” Bhupender Yadav, Environment Minister, posted on social media platform X.
India is one of the ‘contracting parties’ to the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. It became a signatory in 1982. From 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites in the country. From 2014 to 2024, the country has added 59 new wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites. Currently, Tamil Nadu harbours the maximum number of Ramsar sites (18 sites), followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 sites).
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India’s Ramsar wetlands comprise 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. 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’s protection.
Being designated a Ramsar site doesn’t necessarily invite extra international funds but the Centre and States must ensure these tracts of land are conserved, and spared manmade encroachment. Acquiring this label also helps with a locale’s tourism potential and its international visibility.
Wetlands, according to the Environment Ministry, 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 meters, 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”.
To be Ramsar site, however, it must meet at least one of the nine criteria defined by the Ramsar Convention of 1971, including supporting vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities; or 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.
The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation, estimates India’s wetlands to span around 1,52,600 sq. km., which is 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country. A little over two-fifths are inland natural wetlands and about a quarter are coastal wetlands. India has 19 types of wetlands, with Gujarat having the maximum area, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat serve as important spaces for migratory birds. Wetlands are also known to have among the highest soil-carbon densities and therefore play a major role in buffering carbon dioxide emissions.
