Context: The World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually across the world on 2nd February.

World Wetlands Day 2024: Origin, Objectives, and Significance

• Origin of the World Wetlands Day: UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 75/317 on August 30, 2021 to officially declare February 2nd as World Wetlands Day.
• Objective: World Wetlands Day is celebrated to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and the planet.
• Theme: ‘Wetlands and Human Wellbeing’.

• Significance of the World Wetlands Day: 

• Mark Ramsar Convention: It was on this day in 1971 that the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
• Promote Sustainable Use: The day seeks to adopt methods to limit waste and contamination that can hurt wetland environments.
• Awareness Creation: The World Wetlands Day makes people aware of the significance of wetlands and the need to preserve them for the future.

What are Wetlands? – A Comprehensive Exploration of Types and Categories

• About: Wetlands can be defined as any area of land that is primarily covered by water, either permanently or seasonally.
• Categorisation of Wetlands:
  • Inland wetlands: Marshes, lakes, rivers, floodplains, peatlands and swamps.
  • Coastal wetlands: Saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and coral reefs.
  • Human-made wetlands: Fish ponds, rice paddies and salt pans, reservoirs etc.

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Significance of Wetlands: Guardians of Biodiversity, Climate Regulators, and Cultural Relevance

Challenges Threatening Wetlands: A Look at Pressing Issues and Concerns

• Illegal Mining: It has led to decline in holding capacity of water.
• Land Grabbing: Expansion of cities has led to demand for new buildings. Many wetland areas have been converted into residential areas.
• Infrastructure Projects: Infrastructure projects in the world have led to destruction of wetland areas. These projects have also destroyed biodiversity of these sites.
• Droughts: Droughts, fuelled by climate change, have led to scarcity of water. Drying up of water has led to destruction of wetlands.
• Dams: Damming of rivers has changed the salinity of waters, which has caused imbalance in nutrient composition of the site.
• Contamination: Industrial and domestic pollution has contaminated wetland areas, causing them to disappear over the years.
• Overgrazing and Overfishing: In many areas, overgrazing and over fishing has altered the balance of natural resources in an area.
• Eutrophication: Excess use of fertilizers in agriculture has led to increase in nitrogen content of wetlands, causing eutrophication.

Ramsar Sites in India: A Pinnacle of Biodiversity Conservation and Global Collaboration

• About: Any wetland site protected under Ramsar convention is called a ‘Ramsar Site’. A Ramsar Site attracts a high degree of protection.
• Ramsar Sites in India: Currently, India has 80 wetland sites in India.
  • In August 2022, India achieved a significant milestone of designating 75 Ramsar sites during the 75th Year of Independence.
  • In the last ten years, Ramsar sites have increased from 26 to 80, of which 38 have been added in the last three years alone.
• Selecting a Ramsar Site: For being designated as a Ramsar site, a site must fulfil at least one of the nine specific criteria laid out in the Ramsar Convention:

• The site supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
• The site contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.
• The site has populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
• The site regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.
• The site has plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.
• The site regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.
• If it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.
• The site is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.
• The site regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non avian animal species.

• Significance of a Ramsar Site:
• Countries commit to conserving and wisely using the wetland once it comes under Ramsar convention.
• The site draws international attention, raising awareness and potentially providing resources for conservation efforts.
• By becoming part of Ramsar convention, the site joins a global network of protected wetlands, promoting international cooperation and knowledge sharing.

Exploring Ramsar Sites in India: From Numbers to Notable Features and Global Comparisons

• Highest Number: Tamil Nadu has the highest number of Ramsar sites in India (16), followed by Uttar Pradesh (10).
• Largest Area: The Aghanashini Estuary, which is located in Karnataka, is the largest Ramsar Site.
• Smallest Area: Renuka Wetland, located in Himachal Pradesh, is the smallest Ramsar site in India.
• Oldest Site: Chilika Lake (Orissa) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) were recognized as the first Ramsar Sites of India.
• Ramsar Sites Across the World: Around the world, there are more than 2500 Ramsar sites. The largest number of Ramsar sites are in the United Kingdom (175) and Mexico (142).

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Latest Ramsar Sites in India and Their Ecological Riches

• Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve (Karnataka): Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve is a human made Village Irrigation Tank adjoining the Ankasamudra village of Bellary district.
• The site houses 210 species of plants, eight species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles, 240 species of birds, 41 species of fishes, three species of frogs, 27 species of butterflies and 32 species of flying insects.
• Aghanashini Estuary (Karnataka): It is a site where the Aghanashini River flows into the Arabian Sea in Karnataka. In addition to its estuarine and shallow marine waters, the area includes rocky and pebble shores, intertidal mudflats and some aquaculture ponds and rice fields.
• Apart from housing species 80 fish, 115 birds and 45 mangroves and mangrove-associated species, it supports 6000 households.
• Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve (Karnataka): This site in Gadag district is the largest wintering grounds for the Bar-headed goose in southern India. It is a designated Important Bird Area.
• Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu): The site is located in Ariyalur District. The site is home to more than 500 species of flora and fauna.
  • The sanctuary lies in the Central Asian Flyway and is considered an important breeding and foraging ground for water bird species.
• Longwood Shola Reserve Forest (Tamil Nadu): The site is located in the Nilgiris District, and serves as the home for more than 700 species of flora and fauna.
• Out of 177 bird species found in the site, 14 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. It also has a significant herpetofauna diversity.

Ramsar Convention: A Comprehensive Overview of the International Treaty and Its Governing Bodies

• About: The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
• The convention has been named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971.
• • Authority: The Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP) is the policy-making organ of the Ramsar convention which adopts site designations resolutions and recommendations.
  • Secretariat: The secretariat of Ramsar Convention is based at the headquarters of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Gland, Switzerland.
• Organs:
• Conference of the Contracting Parties (CoP): This body consists of all governments that have ratified the treaty.
• It has the authority to review progress under the convention, identify new priorities, and set work plans for member nations.
• The Standing Committee: It is an intersessional executive body that represents the COP between its triennial meetings, carrying out the decisions made by the COP.
• The Scientific and Technical Review Panel: The panel provides scientific and technical guidance to the Conference of Contracting Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Ramsar Secretariat.

Montreux Record: Safeguarding Vulnerable Wetlands Globally with a Focus on India’s Protected Sites

• About: The Montreux Record is a register that contains all the wetland sites on the Ramsar list where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur.
• The changes in these sites have occurred as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
• The record is a voluntary mechanism that highlights specific wetlands of international importance that are facing immediate challenges.
  • Origin: The record was based on the Recommendation 4.8 at the COP4 in 1990 held at Montreux, Switzerland, and was adopted by the Conference of Contracting parties in Brisbane in 1996.
  • Addition and Removal: Ramsar sites can be added to Montreux Record or can be removed from it only with the approval of the contracting parties in which the sites lie.
• Significance:
• Montreux Record provides nations with a faster way to give high priority to a wetland site and secure the funding and technical assistance needed to preserve it.
• The mechanism of protection was created as a tool to emphasize the preservation of wetlands.
• Ramsar Sites in India under Montreux Record:
• Keoladeo National Park
• Loktak Lake

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Conclusion

World Wetlands Day is an opportunity for us to take necessary precautions to protect the wetlands and ensure that they thrive and continue to contribute to a better planet.