Addition to Ramsar Sites | 29 Jan 2020

India has added 10 more wetlands to the sites protected by the Ramsar Convention.

These are:
- Maharashtra: Nandur (state’s first).
- Punjab: Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal.
- Uttar Pradesh: Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar.
The other 27 Ramsar sites are in Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

This addition will help in achieving India’s ambition mission ‘Nal se Jal’ which aims to provide piped water connection to every household by 2024.
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.

It was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar and is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands.
Its aim is 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 declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.

Montreux Record

Montreux Record under the Ramsar Convention 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.
Currently, 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 was later removed from it.