India has 41 wetlands, the highest in South Asia, with two more added to the list of recognised sites of international importance under the treaty of Ramsar Convention.

The Lonar Lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar in Agra, have been added to the list of recognised Ramsar sites.

Recently, Kabartal in Bihar’s Begusarai district was recognised as a wetland of international importance, the first such wetland in the state, under the Ramsar Convention. The Asan Conservation Reserve in Dehradun, the first wetland from Uttarakhand to be recognised by Ramsar convention, was added to the list in October this year.

What are wetlands?

• Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, fens, rivers, floodplains and swamps. Coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and even coral reefs. Fish ponds, rice paddies and saltpans are man-made wetlands.

• Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.

• They are, in fact, a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.

• Every year, February 2 is observed as World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for our planet. This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran.

What is the Ramsar Convention?

• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty signed by 171 countries to protect wetlands. It is named after the city in Iran where it was signed, and it began with 18 countries in 1971.

• The convention is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords for preserving the ecological character of wetlands. Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for the conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.

• It is one of the largest international agreements, after the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 196 countries) and the UN climate agreement (UNFCCC, 197 countries).

• The Ramsar List is the world’s largest network of protected areas. There are over 2,400 Ramsar Sites on the territories of 171 Convention Contracting Parties across the world, covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres

• The signatory countries promise to make inventories of their Ramsar Sites and to develop management plans. These management plans include the sustainable use of the many other functions of wetlands, such as food production, water storage and recreation.

Lonar Lake

Lonar Lake on the Deccan Plateau is an endorheic or closed basin, almost circular in shape, formed by a meteorite impact onto the basalt bedrock. The Site is located in Buldhana district in Maharashtra.

The Site includes the lake as well as escarpments, which form the crater walls, and forested zones. The lake is high in salinity and alkalinity, as the lack of an outflow leads to a concentration of minerals as the lake water evaporates. 

Specialised micro-organisms such as anaerobes, cyanobacteria and phytoplankton survive in this harsh chemical environment. Outside the lake, there is considerable diversity of plant and animal life, as springs which help feed the lake provide a source of freshwater. 

Inhabiting the Site are 160 species of birds including the vulnerable Asian woolly-neck (Ciconia episcopus) and common pochard (Aythya ferina), 46 species of reptiles, and 12 species of mammals including the iconic grey wolf (Canis lupus). 

Factors which threaten the site include household sewage, urban wastewater and unsustainable tourism.

Sur Sarovar

Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham Lake, is a human-made reservoir. The wetland is located on Delhi-Mathura highway (National Highway-2), in Agra district in Uttar Pradesh.

Originally created to supply water to the city of Agra in summer, the wetland soon became an important and rich ecosystem. The Site’s patchwork of different habitat types provides refuge to resident and migratory birds, and more than 60 species of fish. 

Threatened species include the vulnerable greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga), sarus crane (Grus antigone) and catfish Wallago attu. The Site is important for bird species which migrate on the Central Asian flyway, with over 30,000 waterbirds known to visit the reservoir annually. 

Unsustainable tourism, invasive species, and household sewage and urban wastewater present significant threats to the Site.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store