The new sites are Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest & Pichavaram Mangrove in Tamil Nadu, Pala wetland in Mizoram and Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.
On the occasion of World Wetlands Day on 2 February, India added Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh to the list of Ramsar sites in India.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav had then said the government is taking affirmative action, involving communities and citizens, in halting and reversing wetlands degradation and loss.
Before the addition of Bakhira and Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh’s Haiderpur wetland made it to the list of Indian wetlands of international importance.
As per the Ramsar Convention on wetlands report, the wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests, with 35% of the wetlands lost from 1970-2015.
The alarming situation demands urgent attention as 40% of the world’s plant and animal species breed in wetlands. The wetlands are also vital feeding and breeding grounds for migratory birds.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty, aims at the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, the convention was signed in 1971.
