Syllabus: GS3/Biodiversity and Conservation
Context
- National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) has completed the documentation and Ground-truthing of Maharashtra’s 23,415 wetlands.
What is a Wetland?
- A wetland is an ecosystem in which the land is covered by water—salt, fresh, or somewhere in between—either seasonally or permanently. It functions as its own distinct ecosystem.
- It includes water bodies such as lakes, rivers, underground aquifers, swamps, wet grasslands, peatlands, deltas, tidal flats, mangroves, coral reefs, and other coastal areas as well.
- These wetlands can be classified into three segments such as inland wetlands, coastal wetlands, and human-made wetlands.
Wetlands in India
- India includes high-altitude wetlands of the Himalayas, floodplains of rivers such as Ganges and Brahmaputra, lagoons and mangrove marshes on the coastline, and reefs in marine environments.
- India has around 4.6% of its land as wetlands, 99 Wetlands of India are under the List of Wetlands of International Importance called as Ramsar Sites.
- India boasts the largest Ramsar site network in Asia and the 3rd largest in the world in terms of number of sites.
- Tamil Nadu holds the highest number of Ramsar sites in India in 2026 with 20 sites.
Importance of Wetlands
- Biodiversity Hotspots: Wetlands are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, supporting a wide variety of plant and animal species.
- Water Filtration and Purification: They act as natural filters, trapping and removing pollutants and sediments from water.
- Flood Control and Water Regulation: Function as natural buffers against floods by absorbing and slowing down excess water during heavy rainfall or storm events.
- Carbon Sequestration: The waterlogged conditions in wetlands slow down the decomposition of organic matter, leading to the accumulation of carbon in the soil.
- Economic Benefits: Wetlands support various economic activities, including fisheries, agriculture, and tourism.
Ramsar Convention
- It is an international treaty aimed at conserving wetlands around the world. It was adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 and entered into force in 1975.
- Countries that are parties to the convention commit to designating wetlands of international importance within their territories. These sites are referred to as Ramsar Sites.
- Criteria:
- supporting vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or
- threatened ecological communities or,
- if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds or,
- It is an important source of food for fishes, spawning grounds, and nursery.
- India has been a party to the Convention since1982.
Source: TH
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