Ladakh’s Tso Kar Wetland Complex: Ramsar Site

• 30 Dec 2020

Why in News

Recently, India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42^nd Ramsar site, a conservation status conferred by International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

• Previously, the Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar (also known as Keetham lake) in Agra were added to the list of Ramsar sites.

Key Points

• About Tso Kar Wetland Complex:
  
  • The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies:
    
    • Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south,
    • Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
  • It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.
  • It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
    
    • Important Bird Area (IBA):
      
      • The IBA programme of the Bird Life International aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for conservation of the world's birds and associated biodiversity.
      • Bird Life International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats.
    • Central Asian Flyway (CAF):
      
      • It covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains.
      • The Flyway comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in the Russian Federation (Siberia) to the southernmost non-breeding (wintering) grounds in West and South Asia, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
      • It covers at least 279 populations of 182 migratory waterbird species, including 29 globally threatened species.
  • The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the near threatened Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.
  • It is the major breeding area for Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps Cristatus), Bar-headed Geese (Anser Indicus), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea), Brown-headed Gull (Larus Bunocephalus), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius Mongolus) and many other species.
• Importance of Wetlands:
  
  • Wetlands are defined as "lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water".
  • 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 the main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.

Ramsar Site

• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.
• It came into force for India on 1^st February, 1982.
• Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites.
• 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.
• 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.
• At present, two wetlands of India are in Montreux Record:
  
  • Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and
  • Loktak Lake (Manipur).
  • Chilika Lake (Odisha) was placed in the record but later removed from it.

Source:PIB