India’s Ramsar site tally reaches 103 with inclusion of Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake & UP’s Sauj Jheel

Why in News?

India’s Ramsar site tally has reached 103 with the inclusion of Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh and Sauj Jheel in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh. The additions highlight the importance of conserving wetlands and protecting the country’s natural heritage.

Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh

• Ramsar Site Number: 2602.
• Location: At the foothills of the Outer Himalayas, on the edge of Chandigarh.
• Area: Nearly 565 acres.
• Ecological features: The wetland supports diverse habitats, including open water, shoreline vegetation, scrub and forest.
• Significance: It provides an important refuge for wildlife within an urban landscape.

Sauj Jheel, Uttar Pradesh

• Ramsar Site Number: 2603.
• Location: Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh.
• Ecological features: It is a shallow lake surrounded by farmland in the floodplain of the Ganga River.
• Significance: It forms part of a wider network of wetlands, contributing to ecological connectivity, and is located close to Saman Bird Sanctuary, another Ramsar site (Site No. 2413).

About the Ramsar Convention

• Adoption: The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty adopted in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
• Objective: It provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
• India’s membership: India became a party to the convention on February 1, 1982.
• Criteria: A wetland can qualify for Ramsar designation if it meets at least one of the convention’s nine criteria.

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