Ramsar convention on wetlands pdf

Wildlife protection. Antigua and Barbuda. Bosnia and Herzegovina. British Virgin Islands. Burkina Faso.

Cape Verde. Central African Republic. Costa Rica. Czech Republic. Dominican Republic. El Salvador. Equatorial Guinea. Federal Republic of Germany. German Democratic Republic. Hong Kong. Lao People's Democratic Republic. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. New Zealand. Papua New Guinea. Republic of Korea. Provisioning Services : Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, matching rainforests and coral reefs in biodiversity.

The detritus formed by dead plant tissues form food for a large number of mosquitoes and fishes, which in turn feeds migratory birds, amphibians, reptiles, predatory fishes, and mammals. Also, some medicinal plants are endemic to wetlands. Hence, wetlands provision for fishes, medicines, timber, a variety of exotic fruits like cranberries for human consumption. Supporting Services : As already seen, wetlands provide habitat for a large number of animals and birds. The complex food web in the wetland ecosystem helps in preserving the genetic diversity of the wetlands.

Cultural Services : Wetlands are great spots for recreation and tourism. Some of the wetlands like Chilika lake in India are a paradise for bird watchers. It attracts not just the local population of birds, but migratory birds from as far as Siberia.

While the temperate region was mostly responsible for their disappearance till the s since then tropical countries have accelerated the pace of wetland conversion into alternate land uses like dams construction, agriculture, and urbanization.

As per Global Wetland Outlook, current wetland coverage is about 12 million square kilometers area. It is suspected that much of this is now degraded. The factors responsible for the degradation of wetlands are: over utilizing provisioning services like fishing, water withdrawal, etc, which in turn impact regulating, supporting and cultural services indiscriminate use of fertilizers in agriculture leading to eutrophication invasion by alien species land use change for urban sprawl and agricultural expansion high sediment load and hence sedimentation rates due to enhanced levels of soil erosion and increased particulate matter in the air climate change Ramsar Convention The swift decline of wetlands is causing the loss of services, which directly impacts human well-being.

This prompted some countries and NGOs to start discussing ways to conserve wetlands globally. The negotiations started in the s and 18 nations agreed to the text of the Ramsar Convention in the Ramsar Conference held in The Convention came into force in and Australia became the first country to accede to the convention. This is the only treaty exclusively for a particular ecosystem. As per the 3 pillars of the Ramsar Convention , the countries will: Ensure wise use of all wetlands within their territories.

Declare eligible wetlands within their territories as Wetlands of International Importance, the list of which is called the Ramsar List, and ensure their effective management.

Cooperate internationally for trans boundary wetlands. Currently, there are over wetlands in the Ramsar convention list, and it entered into force in India on 1st February and initially declared Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park as Ramsar sites.

Today India has declared 47 wetlands as Wetlands of International Importance. Wise Use Principle One of the pillars, the wise use of wetlands is simply sustainable use of wetlands using ecosystem approach.

The wise use principle appreciates the fact that ecosystem services of the wetlands are to be utilized for human well-being and land-use change for development is bound to happen, but such utilization should be subjected to nondisturbance of ecological character of the wetland combination of components, processes, and services and within the limits of sustainable development.

In other words, a trade-off is made between the loss of ecosystem services due to degradation of wetlands, and development and economic gain, while ensuring that degradation of wetlands is not pushed beyond their regeneration capacity. The guidelines on wise use encourage parties to: Enact laws, adopt policies and establish institutions for wise use of wetlands. Educate and train people and spread public awareness regarding wise use approach and establish a mechanism for inventory management and monitoring.

Take action on the field, ensuring their wise use and reverse any practice harming the wetland ecosystem. India and Wise Use Policy Based on the above guidelines, India has taken a number of steps in the direction of conserving wetlands. Some of them are: 1. Policies, Laws and Institutions a. National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Systems is launched for comprehensive conservation of wetlands and lakes, so as to get the desired quality of water along with conservation of biodiversity.

Wetlands Conservation and Management Rules, establishes the National Wetland Committee for monitoring implementation of rules and recommending policy actions including the declaration of wetlands as Ramsar sites and State Wetlands Authority for regulating and permitting activities within a notified wetland.

I nventory management and monitoring a. Formulation of a toolkit under National Mission for Clean Ganga in January for management of water bodies and wetlands in urban areas. On World Wetland Day , a health card of 10 wetlands covering more than 50 Ganga cities was released to help monitor and manage the ground level situation c. National Wetland Inventory and Assessment done by ISRO has mapped more than 2 lakh wetlands across the country with the help of remote sensing satellites.

Conclusion Wetlands are important to the well-being of humans as they provide several services. As the importance of wetlands is dawning on to the general public, conservation and restoration efforts have picked up. The lessons from the Indian Ocean Tsunami have generated interest in restoring lost mangroves swamps and estuarine ecosystems.