Five More Wetlands Designated as Ramsar Sites

Focus:  GS III- Environment and Ecology

Why in News?

India has increased its tally of Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) to 80 from existing 75 by designating five more wetlands as Ramsar sites on the eve of World Wetlands Day 2024.

List of wetlands designated as Ramsar sites:

1. Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve
2. Aghanashini Estuary
3. Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve
4. Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary
5. Longwood Shola Reserve Forest

What is a Ramsar Site? 

• A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• Ramsar sites are recorded on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance.
• The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type is a wetland classification developed within the Ramsar Convention intended as a means for fast identification of the main types of wetlands for the purposes of the Convention.
• The countries with most sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142.
• The country with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Bolivia.

Ramsar Convention

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
• It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.
• The 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands.
• The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.
• 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 (Resolutions and Recommendations) to administer the work of the Convention and improve the way in which the Parties are able to implement its objectives.

What are wetlands?

• A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
• The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.
• The main wetland types are swamp, marsh, bog, and fen; sub-types include mangrove forest, carr, pocosin, floodplains, mire, vernal pool, sink, and many others.
• The largest wetlands include the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, the Pantanal in South America, and the Sundarbans in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta.