Tamil Nadu’s six more wetlands have been recognised as Ramsar sites. The state houses 10 Ramsar sites at present. Tamil Nadu is now one of the top spots in India along with Uttar Pradesh for having the most Ramsar recognised wetlands. Ramsar recognition is an intergovernmental environmental treaty which was established by UNESCO in 1971. This recognises wetlands in the world which are internationally important and provide a safe habitat to waterfowl (provides space for 180 species of birds).
The six new wetlands which are added from Tamil Nadu are Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary in Tirunelveli, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve in Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram, Vembannur Wetland Complex in Kanyakumari, Vellode Bird Sanctuary in Erode, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary in Chengalpattu, and Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuaries in Tiruvarur. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin took to Twitter to announce it.
According to media reports, Supriya Sahu shared that Tamil Nadu is aiming to get the Ramsar tag for 75 more wetlands in the 75th year of Independence. She also mentioned that the Ramsar tag for nine wetlands was received after a gap of 20 years. The first site to get a Ramsar tag in 2002 was Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary. At present, 64 sites have been tagged under the Ramsar title. It covers an area of 12,50,361 ha.
Before this announcement, earlier, three wetlands – the Pallikaranai Marshlands in Chennai, Karikili Bird Sanctuary in Chengalpattu district and Pichavaram Mangrove in Cuddalore district – were given the title of Wetlands of International Importance. The other wetlands which recently received Ramsar title are Pala wetland in Mizoram and Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.
For the unversed, the Ramsar title is named after Ramsar, a city in Iran, where the convention was signed. It is also known as Convention on Wetlands. It attempts to save and conserve these resources. A total of 2,500 sites, across different countries and regions, have received Ramsar recognition.
