JOIN USThe addition of 10 more wetlands in India to sites protected under the Ramsar convention should help to focus more attention on the ecological and economic importance of water bodies. The 10 new ones are in Maharashtra, Punjab and UP, and they take the number of protected sites to 37 across the country. Ramsar Convention is an international agreement. Wetlands around the world are identified under it for their biological diversity and role in sustaining life, and strict rules and guidelines are issued for their upkeep and management. It enables countries to preserve and maintain their wetlands through efforts at national and local levels and with international co-operation. The importance of wetlands cannot be exaggerated when the environment all over the world is under severe stress and climate change is an increasingly real threat. They provide resources and services relating to many areas like food, groundwater recharge, flood moderation and climate control.
There are over 7.5 lakh wetlands in the country covering about 15 million hectares and they account for about 5% of the geographical area. The Ramsar sites cover an area of about one million hectares. The Central government, making the announcement about the addition of the new Ramsar sites, has said that it is a recognition of its efforts for conservation and rejuvenation of wetlands. But governments at Central and state levels and local administrations have to do much more to protect the wetlands. Most of the wetlands actually need rejuvenation before they are conserved. Contrary to claims made by governments and administrations, they have often been found to have failed in protecting wetlands and have sometimes colluded in their destruction. They have also been negligent in implementing the Ramsar guidelines. The four high rise apartments which were demolished in Kerala on the orders of the Supreme Court last month were on the shores of the Vembanad lake which is a Ramsar site.
Urbanisation, encroachments, unscientific maintenance methods and gross neglect are the main reasons for the loss and degradation of wetlands. India has lost a lot of its wetlands and even now about 8% of the wetlands are situated inside urban areas. They are set to disappear soon. Greater Bengaluru has destroyed about 56% of its wetlands in the last five decades. Karnataka has also seen large scale destruction of wetlands. The state wants to propose some sites like the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary and the Krishna backwaters in Bagalkot district for Ramsar recognition. But what matters most are the efforts it makes to protect the thousands of wetlands, big and small, across the state and to reclaim those that are lost or are in danger. Community and public participation is very important in these efforts.