World Wetlands Day: India now has 49 Ramsar Sites

Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh are the latest Ramsar sites to join the list of 49 protected wetlands in the country on the World Wetlands Day celebrated on February 2  every year. The announcement was made by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal while launching the 'National Wetland Decadal Change Atlas' at Sultanpur National Park in Haryana. Sultanpur National Park is also a Ramsar site, which is located on the outskirts of Gurugram. 

In 1971, a Convention on Wetlands was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar which is how it got its name Ramsar Convention. The convention laid down a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Wetlands are an important part of ecological system, they support biodiversity and also mitigate the effects of climate change. 

World Wetlands Day has a different theme every year and this year it is 'Wetlands Action for People and Nature,' which highlights the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for humans and planetary health.

All 49 Ramsar Sites together now cover 10,93,636 Ha, making it the highest in South Asia. Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary offers a safe wintering and staging ground for a large number of special Central Asian Flyway while Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary is a coastal wetland with rich avifaunal diversity. It provides a safe habitat to endangered and vulnerable species.

The original Wetland Atlas was released in 2011. The decadal change atlas highlights the changes which have happened in wetlands across the country.