Rajasthan’s Siliserh Lake, Chhattisgarh’s Kopra Jalashay designated as Ramsar Sites

• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced the addition of two new Ramsar Sites in India.

These sites are: 

i) Siliserh Lake in Rajasthan’s Alwar

ii) Kopra Jalashay near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh.

• With this, India now has 96 sites in the list.

i) Siliserh Lake

• The site is a human-made wetland within the buffer zone of Sariska Tiger Reserve.

• Since its creation in the mid-nineteenth century, the wetland has become an important cultural and social landmark. 

• Overlooked by the Siliserh Lake Palace, the wetland has long supplied drinking water to local communities and attracted tourists for its recreational value. 

• It faces threats from intensive agriculture and the expansion of human settlements in the surroundings. 

• It is in a semi-arid zone, and the Site serves as an important water source for diverse species of the region. 

• Among the 149 bird species and 17 mammal species supported by the Site and its catchments are the vulnerable river tern (Sterna aurantia) and the endangered tiger (Panthera tigris). 

• The Site also supports more than 1 per cent of the biogeographic population of black stork (Ciconia nigra). 

ii) Kopra Jalashay

• The Site is a reservoir located in the upper catchments of the River Mahanadi.

• Originally constructed for irrigation purposes, it is mainly surrounded by farmland and a few villages. 

• The wetland’s extensive open water area features shallow nutrient-rich backwaters. 

• Its strong hydrological and ecological connectivity contributes to a wide variety of habitats across the area. 

• The wetland supports more than 60 migratory bird species which rely on it for nesting, feeding and as a stop-over site. 

• Notable species include the vulnerable greater spotted eagle (Aquila clanga) and the endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus). 

• The Site is appreciated by both local communities and tourists for its natural beauty and birdwatching opportunities. 

• The wetland faces threats from siltation, invasive non-native species, and intensive agriculture in the surrounding landscape. 

• Conservation measures are proposed at the Site but a management plan remains to be prepared.

What is the Ramsar Convention?

• The Ramsar List is the world’s largest network of protected areas. There are over 2,500 Ramsar Sites, covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres.

• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty signed by 173 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).

• India ratified the convention on February 1, 1982.

• The first Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974. The largest Sites are Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 sq km), and Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada. These Sites each cover over 60,000 sq km.

• The countries with the most Sites are the United Kingdom with 176 and Mexico with 144. Brazil has the largest area with 267,000 square km under the Convention protection; Bolivia, Canada, Chad, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Russian Federation have also each designated over 100,000 square km.

What are wetlands?

• Wetlands are ecosystems where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. 

• 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.

• Though they cover only around 6 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. 

• Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism and for jobs. Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems and for our climate, providing essential ecosystem services such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification. 

• More than a billion people across the world depend on wetlands for their livelihoods – that’s about one in eight people on Earth.

• 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.