Haiderpur Wetland added to Ramsar site

• Haiderpur Wetland in Uttar Pradesh has been added to the list of Indian Wetlands of international Importance.
• This has brought the number of Ramsar sites in India to 47.

Haiderpur Wetland

• The human-made Haiderpur wetland spreads over an area of 6,908 hectares in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.
• Formed in 1984 on a floodplain of the River Ganga on the Madhya Ganga Barrage, the wetland is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
• In terms of supporting life, the wetland is a habitat for numerous animals and plant species.
• It homes more than 30 species of plants, over 300 species of birds including 102 waterbirds, more than 40 fish, and more than ten mammal species.
• Further, it is home to more than 15 globally threatened species such as the critically endangered gharial, endangered hog deer, black-bellied tern, steppe eagle, Indian skimmer, and gold mahseer.
• The Haiderpur wetland is not only home to more than 25,000 waterbirds, but it serves as a breeding site for the near-threatened Indian grassbird and provides refuge to the northern subspecies population of the vulnerable swamp deer during its seasonal flood-driven migration.
• Similarly, the site also regularly supports more than 1% of the population of greylag goose and bar-headed goose.
• Moreover, it is a livelihood creator for local communities, used for recreation and tourism, and supports scientific and educational activities.
• Earlier in August 2021, four more wetlands from India were recognized as Ramsar sites – Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat and Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana.
• Further, on October 2, 2021, Union Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav had launched ‘Wetlands of India’ portal that provides single point access to all information relating to wetlands.

About Wetland

• According to the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are land areas saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally.
• Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, floodplains, and swamps.
• The coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons, and coral reefs.
• And, human-made wetlands include fishponds, rice paddies, and saltpans.
• Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty, aims at the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
• Named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, the convention was signed in 1971.
• The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other organizations known as international organization partners (IOPs), namely BirdLife International, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Wetlands International, WWF International, and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT).