New Delhi: The Okhla Bird Sanctuary might have benefited a great deal from international cooperation had the government made efforts to have it classified as a Ramsar site. This tag for wetlands is equivalent to a UNESCO status for heritage sites.
SHILLONG, Feb 2: Scientists have stressed the need for conservation of wetlands for a balanced ecosystem in the biodiversity-rich Northeast. The atlas of Northeast India released by the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) at Barapani near Shillong today revealed that the biodiversity of the region accounts for almost 5 per cent of the wetlands in the country.
The last pair of Siberian cranes was spotted here in 2002
About a decade after the celebrated Siberian cranes ceased to visit the Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur in Rajasthan, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is planning to take up a captive breeding programme for the rare birds in the same terrain.
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is prepared to go on the warpath yet again. His latest battleground: the endangered wetlands.
Over the next few months he intends to proactively and aggressively work with States to implement the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
The Mahul-Sewri mudflats are one of the 160 wetlands in the country which qualify for the Ramsar Criteria, according to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which released the list on the eve of World Wetlands Day.
The Mahul-Sewri mudflats have been the homes for thousands of migratory birds, mostly flamingos.
Wetlands in India come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the huge vast coastal wetlands in Kerala like the Vembanad Kol, supporting millions of fish and birds, to the brackish water lagoons like Chilika in Orissa which support thousands of small fishermen, from the crystal clear lakes like the Chandra taal in Himachal, to the salty Sambhar lake in Rajasthan.
NEW DELHI: The Union government on Thursday notified rules for conservation and management of wetlands that restrict harmful activities such as construction, dumping of untreated waste, and industrialisation, to prevent damage to these sensitive ecosystems with high biodiversity values.
The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010, are aimed at ensuring better conservation and prevent
