India Backs Dhanauri for Ramsar Site Tag

• 06 Jun 2019

The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change has asked Uttar Pradesh forest department,to propose Dhanauri in Greater Noida as a wetland of international importance under Ramsar convention.

• If accepted by the Ramsar Convention, Dhanauri will get legal protection from land use change.

Dhanauri as Ramsar site

• Dhanauri supports a large population of the vulnerable Sarus cranes.
• The wetland meets two criteria (out of nine)to be declared a Ramsar site:
• It has more than 1% of the biogeographic population of one species: the Sarus crane.
• The area supports congregation of more than 20,000 waterfowl and other species.

Criteria for Ramsar Site Tag

• If the site contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type Supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
• Supports populations of plant and animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
• Supports plant and animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.
• Regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.
• Regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.
• Supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and populations
• An important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.
• Regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.