Ramsar has declared 10 new wetlands from India as sites of international importance. The move has been called a major recognition towards conservation, restoration and rejuvenation efforts of the Indian government.
Wetlands provide a wide array of essential resources and ecosystem services. They are a major source of water and the main supply of fresh water which helps seep rainwater and recharge groundwater.
While Maharashtra got its first Ramsar site, Punjab had an addition of three sites to its existing three sites and six wetlands received the tag of Ramsar sites. With the addition of ten new sites, India has 37 Ramsar sites now covering a surface area of 1,067,939 hectares.
On February 2, 1971, the member countries at the Ramsar Convention signed one of the oldest inter-governmental accords to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
10 more wetlands are declared as Ramsar sites in India Image: Deccan Herald
The Ramsar list aims to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands that are crucial for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and the benefits. Declared as Ramsar sites, the wetlands are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.
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Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has planned a four-phased strategy for the restoration of wetlands in the past few months. Conservation of wetlands would help achieve the ‘Nal se Jal’ goal of the Modi government.
The move is considered to be very important given the water crisis prevalent across the globe. Conservation and restoration of wetlands should help break the dry spell and help preserve the ecosystems.