Four more Indian sites — two each from Haryana and Gujarat — have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, taking the number of such sites in the country to 46.

These four sites are:

• Sultanpur National Park

• Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

• Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

• Wadhvana Wetland.

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.

Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

• Haryana’s Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary is a human-made freshwater wetland. It is also the largest in Haryana. Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site. 

• The wetland was declared as a protected area in 1986 and was designated as an Ecosensitive zone by the government in 2011. 

• The site supports more than 10 globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

• The Sanctuary contributes to maintaining the region’s water table by recharging groundwater, and is also a natural flood buffer.

Sultanpur National Park

• The Sultanpur National Park in the state of Haryana supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles. 

• More than 10 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.

• The shallow lake at the core of the Sultanpur National Park is fed by the overflow from neighbouring canals and fields, and replenished by saline groundwater

• In 2010, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change declared the area within 5 kilometres of the Park as an eco sensitive zone. 

Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat lies on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found here. 

• This shallow reservoir dominated by open water areas was originally constructed for irrigation in 1912. In 1988, it was declared as a wildlife sanctuary to protect the birdlife found there. 

• The wetland supports more than 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.

• The Lake provides water for drinking and irrigation and enables groundwater recharge, and is also used for recreation and tourism. The vegetation provides excellent thatching material and is also used as fodder for domestic animals.

Wadhvana Wetland

• The Wadhvana Wetland in Gujarat is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory waterbirds, 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. 

• This reservoir was created in 1910 by the former Baroda State. It is located in a semi-arid agricultural landscape and it is surrounded by wheat and paddy fields and villages.

• The Site provides a global example of how a wetland originally created for irrigation has come to serve as an important waterbird habitat and hub for ecotourism and nature education.

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.

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