UPSC Articles
India adds two more Ramsar sites
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Environment
In news
- India has recently added two more Ramsar sites.
- One is Lonar lake in Maharashtra which is the only crater lake of India.
- The other is Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
Important value additions
The Ramsar Convention
- It was signed on 2nd February, 1971.
- It is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed by member countries.
- Objective: To preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
- It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed.
- Places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site’.
- The aim of the Ramsar list: To develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.
Do you know?
- Recently, Kabartal in Bihar’s Begusarai district was recognised as a wetland of international importance.
- It is the first such wetland in the state, under the Ramsar Convention, according to the Union Environment Ministry.
- 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.
