Visit These 7 Pristine Wetlands In India Before They Disappear

World Wetlands Day marks the date of adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2,1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. This World Wetlands Day, we bring you 7 of the most beautiful and the longest declared wetlands of India in photos, that you should visit before they are lost. What is a Wetland? According to The Ramsar Convention, "wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres." Fish ponds, rice paddies, de-pollution and stabilisation ponds, and salt-pans are human-made wetlands.World Wetlands Day 2024The theme for World Wetlands Day changes every year and is selected to focus attention on a particular aspect of wetland conservation and management. This year the theme is "Wetlands and Human Wellbeing". Ramsar list identifies 75 sites in India as wetlands, with 19 of them being added in 2022. They cover a total of 1,326,677 hectares in the country.Chilika Lake, OdishaArea: 116,500 hectaresDesignated In: 1981, 42 years old siteChandertal, Himachal PradeshArea: 49 hectaresDesignated In: 2005; 18 year old siteHarike Lake, PunjabArea: 4100 hectaresDesignated In: 1990; 33 year old site Keoladeo Ghana National Park, RajasthanArea: 2873 hectaresDesignated In: 1981; 42 years old siteKolleru Lake, Andhra PradeshArea: 90,100 hectaresDesignated In: 2002; 21 years old site Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, GujaratArea: 12,000 hectaresDesignated In: 2012; 11 years old siteThough wetlands cover only around 6 per cent of the Earth's land surface, 40 per cent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. According to UNEP, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests due to human activities and global heating. Tso-Moriri Lake, LadakhArea: 12,000 haDesignated In: 2002; 21 Years old siteSasthamkotta Lake, KeralaArea: 373 hectaresDesignated In: 2002; 21 years old site