GS 3: Environment

Why in News?

The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change has asked Uttar Pradesh forest department,to propose Dhanauri in Greater Noida as a wetland of international importance under Ramsar convention.

Dhanauri as Ramsar site:

Dhanauri supports a large population of the vulnerable Sarus cranes. It has more than 1% of the biogeographic population of one species: the Sarus crane. The wetland meets two criteria (out of nine)to be declared a Ramsar site: The area supports congregation of more than 20,000 waterfowl and other species. Once approved, it will be the 28th wetland in India, and only the second from UP (after the Upper Ganga river), to be declared a Ramsar site.

Ramsar Site:

• The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to become “Contracting Parties”.
• 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 Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans. Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to: work towards the wise use of all their wetlands; designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management; cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.