Uttar Pradesh
World Wetland Day 2025
- 04 Feb 2025
- 3 min read
Why in News?
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) organised the World Wetlands Day 2025 celebrations at the Parvati Arga Ramsar Site, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh (UP) on 2nd February 2025.
Key Points
- About:
- It is observed annually to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands and marks the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.
- Theme for 2025: Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future.
- New Corridor:
- The government announced a new nature-culture tourism corridor will be developed between Ayodhya and Devi Patan in UP.
- Amrit Dharohar Initiative:
- Amrit Dharohar was launched in June 2023 to conserve Ramsar Sites that focuses on four key components i.e., Species and Habitat Conservation, Nature Tourism, Wetlands Livelihood and Wetlands Carbon.
- Threat:
- The biggest threat to wetlands is pollution from industrial and human effluents, which degrade these ecosystems.
Parvati Arga Ramsar Site
- About: It is a permanent freshwater environment, consisting of two oxbow lakes i.e., Parvati and Arga, which are rain-fed and located in the terai region (Gangetic plains).
- The nearby Tikri Forest is also being developed as an eco-tourism site.
- Oxbow lakes are U-shaped lakes formed when a meander of a river is cut off, creating a standalone water body.
- Ecological Significance: It is a refuge for critically endangered white-rumped vulture, Indian vulture, and endangered Egyptian vulture.
- Migratory birds like Eurasian coots, mallards, greylag geese, northern pintails, and red-crested pochards visit the site in the winter months.
- Invasive Species: It faces threats from invasive species, notably the common water hyacinth.
- Cultural Landmarks: The region is home to cultural landmarks such as the birthplaces of Maharishi Patanjali and Goswami Tulsidas, boosting religious and cultural tourism.
