Siliserh Lake and Kopra Jalashay Designated as New Ramsar Sites

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• India designated Siliserh Lake and Kopra Jalashay as its 95th and 96th Ramsar Sites, increasing the country’s total to 96, up from 26 in 2014.

What are the Wetlands?

• The Ramsar Convention’s definition for wetlands includes: 
  • “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”.
• Human-made wetlands: Fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals. 

What is the Ramsar Convention?

• The Ramsar Convention is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed by member countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
• It was signed on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran and came into force in 1975.
  • India became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention in 1982.

Newly Designated Ramsar Sites in Rajasthan

• Siliserh Lake: It is a man-made freshwater lake, constructed in 1845 by Maharaja Vinay Singh of Alwar.
  • It was originally built to meet the drinking water needs of Alwar city.
  • The lake is situated close to the Sariska Tiger Reserve, enhancing its ecological significance.
• Kopra Jalashay: Located near Bilaspur, this is the first-ever Ramsar site in Chhattisgarh.
  • It is a reservoir situated in the upper catchment of the Mahanadi River and serves as a freshwater source and biodiversity habitat.

Source: TOI