Ramsar sites( wetlands) in India for all competitive exams

   RAMSAR SITES (WETLANDS) IN INDIA

WHAT IS WETLAND ?

A wetland is a place where the land is covered by water. Marshes, ponds, the edge of a lake/ocean, the delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood — all of these are wetlands. Wetlands of international importance are also known as Ramsar sites.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

• International treaty for “the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands”.
• It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands.
• It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran.
• The Convention was signed on 2nd of February, 1971.
• The 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day.
• Number of parties to the convention (COP) is 169.
• At the center of the Ramsar philosophy is the “wise use” of wetlands.
• Wise use: maintenance of ecological character within the context of sustainable development.
• Wetlands are indispensable for the countless benefits or “ecosystem services” that they provide humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials, and biodiversity, to flood control, groundwater recharge, and climate change mitigation.
• 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last century.

About Ramsar convention and conference of parties :

• At the time of joining the Convention, each Contracting Party undertakes to designate at least one wetland site for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance.
• The inclusion of a “Ramsar Site” in the List embodies the government’s commitment to take the steps necessary to ensure that its ecological character is maintained.
• The List of Wetlands of International Importance included 2,231 Ramsar Sites in March 2016.
• The country with the highest number of Sites is the United Kingdom with 170
• The country with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Bolivia.
• Conference of the Parties (COP) is the Convention’s governing body consisting of all governments that have ratified the treaty.
• Every three years, representatives of the Contracting Parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP)
• COP is the policy-making organ of the Convention which adopts decisions (Resolutions and Recommendations) to administer the work of the Convention.
• The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay in 2015. COP13 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2018.

Three pillars of Ramsar Convention: 

Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:

1. work towards the wise use of all their wetlands;
2. designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management;
3. cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

The Montreux Record

• The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference. It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.

 International Organization partners  :

1. Birdlife International
2. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
3. International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
4. Wetlands International
5. WWF
6. International Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

Other Partners :

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
• World Heritage Convention (WHC) and
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Project funding is done by various groups like multilateral development banks, bilateral donors, UN agencies such as UNEP, UNDP, Non-governmental organizations etc.

Criteria for Identication of  Wetlands under Ramsar convention :

• If it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type.
• if it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species; or threatened ecological communities.
• If it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
• If it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.
• If it regularly supports 20,000 or more water birds.
• If it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of water birds.
• If it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies
• If it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path.
• If it is an important source of food and water resource, increased possibilities for recreation and eco-tourism, etc.

LIST OF RAMSAR SITES IN INDIA

1. Ashtamudi Wetland , kerala

• A natural backwater in Kollam district.
• River Kallada and Pallichal drains into it.
• It forms an estuary with Sea at Neendakara which is a famous fishing harbour in Kerala.
• National Waterway 3 passes through it.

2. Bhitarkanika Mangroves, orissa

• The core area of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary was declared Bhitarkanika National Park.
• Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary includes Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Bhitarkanika Mangroves, a part of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary were designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2002.
• It is famous for its salt water crocodiles and Olive ridley sea turtle.

3. Bhoj Wetland, madhya pradesh

• The Bhoj Wetland consists of two lakes located in the city of Bhopal.
• The two lakes are the Bhojtal and the Lower Lake.
• It is a manmade reservoir.
• A total of more than 20,000 birds are observed annually.
• The largest bird of India, the sarus crane (Grus antigone) is found here.

4. chandra taal, himachal pradesh

• A high altitude lake on the upper Chandra valley flowing to the Chandra river of the Western Himalayas (4,337m asl.) near the Kunzam pass joining the Himalayan and Pir Panjal ranges. 
• It supports CITES and IUCN Redlisted Snow Leopard and is a refuge for many species like Snow Cock, Chukor, Black Ring Stilt, Kestrel, Golden Eagle, Chough, Red Fox, Himalayan Ibex, and Blue Sheep.

5. chilika lake, orissa

• Chilka Lake is a brackish water lagoon at the mouth of the Daya River
• It is spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India.
• It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest lagoon in the world.
• The lagoon hosts over 160 species of birds in the peak migratory season. Birds from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here.
• In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• Birds: White bellied sea eagles, greylag geese, purple moorhen, jacana, flamingos, egrets, gray and purple herons, Indian roller, storks, white ibis, spoonbills, brahminy ducks, shovellers, pintails, and more.
• Nalbana Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake.
• Nalbana was notified in 1987 and declared a bird sanctuary in 1973 under the Wildlife Protection Act.
• The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is the flagship species of Chilika lake.
• Chilka is home to the only known population of Irrawaddy dolphins in India.
• It is classified as critically endangered, in five of the six other places it is known to live.

6. Deepor Beel, Assam

• A permanent freshwater lake in a former channel of the Brahmaputra river, of great biological importance and also essential as the only major storm water storage basin for the city of Guwahati. 
• The beel is a staging site on migratory flyways and some of the largest concentrations of aquatic birds in Assam can be seen, especially in winter. Some globally threatened birds are supported, including Spotbilled Pelican (Pelicanus philippensis), Lesser and Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus and dubius), and Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri).

7. East Calcutta wetlands, west bengal

• The wetland forms an urban facility for treating the city’s waste water
• The wetland provides about 150 tons of fresh vegetables daily, as well as some 10,500 tons of table fish per year.

8. Harike wetland, punjab

• A shallow water reservoir with thirteen islands, at the confluence of two rivers. Dense floating vegetation covers 70% of the lake. 
• An important site for breeding, wintering and staging birds, supporting over 200,000 Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans, etc.) during migration.

9. Hokera wetland, jammu and kashmir

• Hokera wetland is only 10 km away from Srinagar.
• 68 waterfowl species like Large Egret, Great Crested Grebe, Little Cormorant, Common Shelduck, Tufted Duck and endangered White-eyed Pochard, coming from Siberia, China, Central Asia, and Northern Europe.

10. kanjli wetland, punjab

• The site fulfils Criteria 3 because of its importance in supporting a considerable diversity of aquatic, mesophytic, and terrestrial flora and fauna in the biogeographical region, and acts also as a key regulator of groundwater discharge and recharge with the seasons.

11. keoladeo national park, rajasthan

• A complex of ten artificial, seasonal lagoons, varying in size, situated in a densely populated region.
• Placed on the Montreux Record in 1990 due to “water shortage and an unbalanced grazing regime”.
• Additionally, the invasive growth of the grass Paspalum distichum has changed the ecological character of large areas of the site, reducing its suitability for certain waterbird species, notably the Siberian crane.

12. kolleru lake, Andhra pradesh

• Bird sanctury

13. Loktak lake, Manipur

• Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the north-eastern region.
• Keibul Lamjao the only floating national park in the world floats over it.

14. Nalsarovar Bird sanctuary, Gujarat

• A natural freshwater lake (a relict sea) that is the largest natural wetland in the Thar Desert Biogeographic Province and represents a dynamic environment with salinity and depth varying depending on rainfall.
• Besides a few mammalian species including the endangered wild ass and the black buck, its migratory bird population includes rosy pelicans, flamingoes, white storks, brahminy ducks and herons. Thousands of migratory waterfowl flock to this sanctuary just after the Indian monsoon season.
• The wetland is also a lifeline for a satellite population of the endangered Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) which uses this area in the dry season.

 15. point calimere wildlife and bird sanctuary, Tamilnadu

• One of the last remnants of Dry Evergreen Forests.
• Habitat:Dry Evergreen Forests, Mangrove & Wetlands.
• Winter Migrants : Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Greater Flamingos.

16. Pong dam lake, Himachal pradesh

• A water storage reservoir created in 1975 on the Beas River in the low foothills of the Himalaya on the northern edge of the Indo-Gangetic plain.

17. Renuka lake, Himachal pradesh

• A natural wetland with freshwater springs and inland subterranean karst formations, fed by a small stream flowing from the lower Himalayan out to the Giri river.
• There are 103 species of birds of which 66 are residents, e.g. Crimson-breasted barbet, Mayna, Bulbul, Pheasants, Egrets, Herons, Mallards and Lapwing.
• Among ungulates Sambhar, Barking deer and Ghorals are also abundant in the area.
• The lake has high religious significance and is named after the mother of Hindu sage Parshuram, and is thus visited by thousands of pilgrims and tourists.

18. Ropar wetland, Punjab

• A humanmade wetland of lake and river formed by the 1952 construction of a barrage for diversion of water from the Sutlej River for drinking and irrigation supplies.
• The site is an important breeding place for the nationally protected Smooth Indian Otter, Hog Deer, Sambar, and several reptiles, and the endangered Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is thought to be present.
• Some 35 species of fish play an important role in the food chain, and about 150 species of local and migratory birds are supported.

19. Rudrasagar lake, Tirpura

20. Sambhar lake, Rajasthan

• The Sambhar Salt Lake, India’s largest inland salt lake.
• Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar site (recognized wetland of international importance) because the wetland is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of flamingos and other birds that migrate from northern Asia.
• The specialized algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide striking water colours and support the lake ecology that, in turn, sustains the migrating waterfowl. There is other wildlife in the nearby forests, where Nilgai move freely along with deer and foxes.

21. Sasthamkotta lake, Kerala

• It is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala, situated inKollam district.

22. Surinsar- Mansar lakes, Jammu and Kashmir

• Surinsar is rain-fed without permanent discharge, and Mansar is primarily fed by surface run-off and partially by mineralised water through paddy fields, with inflow increasing in rainy season.
• This composite lake is high in micro nutrients for which it is an attractive habitat, breeding and nursery ground for migratory waterfowls like Fulica atra, Gallinula chloropus, Podiceps nigricollis, Aythya fuligula, and various Anas species.

23. Tsomoriri, Jammu and kashmir

• A freshwater to brackish lake lying at 4,595m above sea level. The site is said to represent the only breeding ground outside of China for one of the most endangered cranes, the Black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis), and the only breeding ground for Bar-headed geese in India.
• The Great Tibetan Sheep or Argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) and Tibetan Wild Ass (Equus kiang) are endemic to the Tibetan plateau, of which the Changthang is the westernmost part.

24. Upper Ganga river(Brijghat to Narora strech), Uttar pradesh

• The river provides habitat for IUCN Red listed Ganges River Dolphin, Gharial, Crocodile, 6 species of turtles, otters, 82 species of fish and more than hundred species of birds.

25. Vembanad - kol wetland, Kerala

• Largest lake of Kerala.
• Famous tourist locations like Alappuzha and Kumarakom, known for house boats falls here.
• River mouths of Pamba-Achenkovil rivers in Vembanad forms one of the unique wetland topography of Kerala, the Kuttanad. It is below sea level and is famous for exotic fish varieties and Paddy fields that are below sea level.

26. Wular lake, Jammu and Kashmir

• The largest freshwater lake in India.