PIB – 16 August 2021

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Focus: GS III- Environment

Why in News?

Four more sites of India added to Ramsar list as wetlands of International importance.

These sites are Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat and Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana.

Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

It is the largest wetland in Haryana is a human-made freshwater wetland.
Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.
The site supports more than ten globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

Sultanpur National Park

It is also from Haryana supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory water birds at critical stages of their life cycles.
More than ten of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing, and the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Saker Falcon, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Black-bellied Tern.

Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

It is from Gujarat lies on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found here. The wetland supports more 30 threatened waterbird species, such as the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture and Sociable Lapwing , and the vulnerable Sarus Crane, Common Pochard and Lesser White-fronted Goose.

Wadhvana Wetland

It is from Gujarat is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory water birds, including over 80 species that migrate on the Central Asian Flyway.
They include some threatened or near-threatened species such as the endangered Pallas’s fish-Eagle, the vulnerable Common Pochard, and the near-threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Grey-headed Fish-eagle and Ferruginous Duck.

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.

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.

Focus: GS I- Festivals, Prelims

Why in News?

Vice President has greeted the people on the eve of Parsi New Year, Navroz

Navroz is celebrated in India on 16th August 2021 but globally Navroz is celebrated on 21st March because of the Shahenshahi calendar that is followed by Parsis in India.
It is a Parsi New Year festival celebrated to mark the beginning of the new Iranian calendar. In Persian, ‘Nav’ stands for new, and ‘Roz’ stands for the day, which literally translates to ‘new day’.
The tradition is observed by Iranians and the Parsi community around the world.
Navroj is inscribed in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of India.
Navroz is also known as Jamshed-i-Navroz after the Persian King, Jamshed, who is credited to have created the Persian Calendar known as the Shahenshahi Calendar.
The time of the festival is decided in Iran and then it is passed on to the entire Zoroastrian population in the world.