In news:Four more wetlands from India get recognition from the Ramsar Secretariat as Ramsar sites.
These sites are:
Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat
Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana.
While Haryana gets its first Ramsar sites, Gujarat gets three more after Nalsarovar which was declared in 2012.
With this addition, the number of Ramsar sites in India are 46 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,083,322 hectares.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change would be working closely with the State Wetland Authorities to ensure the wise use of these sites.
Ramsar list
The Ramsar list is a list of wetland sites that are deemed to be of “international importance” under the Ramsar Convention, 1971 (India is a signatory to it)
The list aim “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”.
Wetlands
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil.
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, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
