Ramsar

Just yesterday, I had gone for a picnic to a corner of Sundarban, and today got to know Sundarban Wetland has been designated as a Ramsar site just three days ago! To add Co-Incidence to co-incidence, day before was celebrated as World Wetlands Day! To celebrate, I give you a brief lecture!

The Ramsar Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”. As on today, there are 2341 sites globally and 27 sites in India.

Sl
Name
Location
Designated
Area (km2)
1 Ashtamudi Wetland Kerala 19-Aug-02 614
2 Bhitarkanika Mangroves Odisha 19-Aug-02 650
3 Bhoj Wetland Madhya Pradesh 19-Aug-02 32
4 Chandra Taal Himachal Pradesh 8-Nov-05 0.49
5 Chilika Lake Odisha 1-Oct-81 1165
6 Deepor Beel Assam 19-Aug-02 40
7 East Kolkata Wetlands West Bengal 19-Aug-02 125
8 Harike Wetland Punjab 23-Mar-90 41
9 Hokera Wetland Jammu and Kashmir 8-Nov-05 13.75
10 Kanjli Wetland Punjab 22-Jan-02 1.83
11 Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan 1-Oct-81 28.73
12 Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh 19-Aug-02 901
13 Loktak Lake Manipur 23-Mar-90 266
14 Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary Gujarat 24-Sep-12 123
15 Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Tamil Nadu 19-Aug-02 385
16 Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh 19-Aug-02 156.62
17 Renuka Lake Himachal Pradesh 8-Nov-05 0.2
18 Ropar Wetland Punjab 22-Jan-02 13.65
19 Rudrasagar Lake Tripura 8-Nov-05 2.4
20 Sambhar Lake Rajasthan 23-Mar-90 240
21 Sasthamkotta Lake Kerala 19-Aug-02 3.73
22 Surinsar-Mansar Lakes Jammu and Kashmir 8-Nov-05 3.5
23 Tsomoriri Jammu and Kashmir 19-Aug-02 120
24 Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch) Uttar Pradesh 8-Nov-05 265.9
25 Vembanad-Kol Wetland Kerala 19-Aug-02 1512.5
26 Wular Lake Jammu and Kashmir 23-Mar-90 189
27 Sundarban Wetland West Bengal 1-Feb-19 4260