NEWS – India adds 5 new wetlands to Ramsar list, taking tally to 80

WHICH ARE THE NEW SITES

Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve  

• Human-made wetland
• Located 30 km from Gadag, Karnataka
• Attracts a huge number of migratory waterfowl
• 20 percent of the world’s Mangolian Bar Headed Geese
• Listed as a priority area for conservation in India

Aghanashini Estuary  

• Aghanashini River – Western Ghats to Arabian Sea in Kumta taluk
• Estuary extends to 48 sqkms
• 84 species of fish, five species of bivalves, and 45 species of mangroves , 117 bird species
• Supports livelihood activities including fishing, agriculture, collection of edible bivalves and crabs, shrimp aquaculture etc

Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve     

• Located in Hagaribommanahalli Taluk of Vijayanagara District ( 40kms from Hampi)
• Man-made wetland

Karaivetti bird sanctuary       

• Located in the Ariyalur District, Tamil Nadu
• Freshwater lake is fed by Pullambadi, Kattalal canal
• Attracts thousands of birds every year
• Declared as a sanctuary in 1999
• One of the Important Bird Areas (IBA’s) of Tamil Nadu

Longwood Shola Reserve Forest       

• Only major pocket of natural shola forest left in the immediate vicinity of Kotagiri in the Nilgiris with an area of 116 hectares
• Important conservation area
• Houses Around 40 species of trees, four reptiles, 14 frogs and 14 birds that are endemic to the Western Ghats region

RAMSAR SITES

• International treaty signed on February 2, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran (Commemorated as World Wetlands day)
• Aims is to recognize the ecological importance of wetlands, promote their conservation and sustainable use, and facilitate international cooperation in this regard
• Defines wetlands broadly to include areas with water, whether static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters
• Encourages the “wise use” of wetlands, emphasizing conservation while allowing for sustainable use
• Specific criteria – ecological, botanical, zoological, limnological, or hydrological significance
• The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the Ramsar List that require additional conservation measures (Established in 1991)

MUST KNOW

• Chilika Lake in Orissa and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan were recognised as the first Ramsar sites in India
• Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary – First Ramsar site of Karnataka
• There are 80 Ramsar sites in India (4^th largest number of sites in world after United Kingdom , Mexico and China)
• The countries with the most Sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142. Bolivia has the largest area with 148,000 square km under the Convention protection; Canada, Chad, Congo and the Russian Federation have also each designated over 100,000 square km