In a bid to protect the fragile ecology of wetlands, India has named two more wetlands of national importance -- Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar in Agra-- under the Ramsar Convention.?
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar made the announcement on Twitter.?
"Happy to note that India has added two more Ramsar sites. Lonar lake in Maharashtra, the only crater lake of the country, and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake in Agra.?Wetlands are the world's natural water filters and one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet," Javadekar tweeted.?
The Ramsar Convention on wetlands is an inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.?
?Under the Ramsar Convention, the number of protected wetlands in India have increased by 50 per cent in one year.?
The total number of such sites of international importance has risen from 27 to 2019 to 41 this year.?
The Convention is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1971.??