Featured image: The Kabartal wetlands. Photo: Twitter/@moefcc
New Delhi: Kabartal in Bihar’s Begusarai district has been recognised as a wetland of international importance – the first such wetland in the state – under the Ramsar Convention, according to the Union environment ministry.
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1971.
“Pleased to inform that Bihar has got its first Ramsar site. Kabartal in Begusarai becomes wetland of international importance,” Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted.
“It is an important wetland of the Central Asian Flyway for the population of migratory birds & biodiversity. With this now India has 39 Ramsar sites,” he posted on Twitter.
One more wetland from India declared as a Ramsar site.#Bihar gets its first #Ramsarsite, Kabartal is declared as the 39th Ramsar site of India. It is an important #wetland of the central Asian flyway for the population of migratory birds and #biodiversity. pic.twitter.com/oEbhvCAoO5
— MoEF&CC (@moefcc) November 10, 2020
The 39 Ramsar sites in India include Chilika Lake in Odisha, Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan, Harike Lake in Punjab, Loktak Lake in Manipur and Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.