• World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 every year. 

• World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971.

• As many as 171 countries are party to the Ramsar Convention and over 2,400 designated sites covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres recognised under it.

• This year’s theme is ‘Wetlands and Water’. It highlights the importance of wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages action to restore them and stop their loss. 

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.

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.

42 Ramsar Sites in India

• India currently has 42 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1,081,438 hectares.

• In December 2020, India added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar Site. It is located at more than 4,500 metres above sea level in the Changthang region of Ladakh. The complex includes two connected lakes, the freshwater Startsapuk Tso and the larger hypersaline Tso Kar. It presents a notable example of two such lakes existing in close proximity.

• In November 2020, two wetlands — the Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra — were added to the list of Ramsar Sites.

• The other Ramsar Sites in India include Chilika Lake in Odisha, Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan, Harike Lake in Punjab, Loktak Lake in Manipur and Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.

National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA)

• The Wetlands Division of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change looks after policies relating to the conservation and wise use of wetlands. 

• The ministry is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely, National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) for conservation and management of lakes and wetlands in the country on cost sharing basis between central government and respective state/UT governments. 

• The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, lakefront development, in-situ cleaning — desilting & deweeding, stormwater management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment, lake beautification, survey & demarcation, bio fencing, fisheries development, weed control, biodiversity conservation, education and awareness creation, community participation, etc.

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