UPSC Express

About Ramsar Convention on Wetland

• It is a convention on Wetlands, signed at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.
• It is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
• There are presently 158 Contracting Parties to the Convention.
• It is the only global environment treaty dealing with a particular ecosystem.
• It was developed as a means to call international attention to the rate at which wetland habitats were disappearing, in part due to a lack of understanding of their important functions, values, goods and services.

Obligations

Major obligations of countries which are party to the Convention are:

• Designate wetlands for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance.
• Promote the wise use of wetlands in their territory.
• Promote international cooperation especially with regard to trans-boundary wetlands, shared water systems and shared species.
• Create wetland reserves.

Montreux Record

Montreux Record under the Convention is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where:

• Changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
• It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.
• The Montreux Record was established by the Conference of the Contracting Parties in1990.
• The Montreux Record should be employed to identify priority sites for positive national and international conservation attention.
• Sites may be added to and removed from the Record only with the approval of the Contracting Parties in which they lie.

World Wetland Day

• World Wetlands Day which is celebrated each year on 2 February, marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP)

• The Government of India operationalised National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP) in closed collaboration with concerned State Governments during the year 1985/86.
• Under the programme, 115 wetlands have been identified till now by the Ministry which requires urgent conservation and management initiatives.

Aim

• Conservation and wise use of wetlands in the country so as to prevent their further degradation

Objectives

• To lay down policy guidelines for conservation and management of wetlands in the country
• To undertake intensive conservation measures in priority wetlands
• To monitor implementation of the programme
• To prepare an inventory of Indian wetlands