10 more wetlands in India declared as Ramsar sites

India has added 10 more wetlands to sites protected by the Ramsar Convention, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Tuesday.

The 10 new ones are Nandur Madhameshwar, a first for Maharashtra; Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal in Punjab; and Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar in Uttar Pradesh. The other Ramsar sites are in Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

With this, a total of 37 sites in the country have been recognised under the international treaty. Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines.

'An acknowledgment'

The Convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands. Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.

Mr. Javadekar said in a tweet that the Ramsar declaration is an acknowledgement of the government’s commitment to the conservation of wetlands.

“Happy to inform that Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance for the conservation of global biological diversity,” Mr. Javadekar said in a tweet. “It is an acknowledgement of India’s commitment towards conservation and sustainable use of its wetlands.”