LUCKNOW Uttar Pradesh expanded its network of internationally recognised wetlands on Thursday after Sauj Jheel in Mainpuri district was officially designated as the state’s 14th Ramsar Site. The announcement came as India added two new wetlands of international importance to the Ramsar list — Sauj Jheel in Uttar Pradesh and Sukhna Wetland in Chandigarh.
“Sauj is our latest and 14th Ramsar site in state, which was declared today. With this, Mainpuri got the distinction of the only district in the country with two Ramsar sites,” said Anuradha Vemuri, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), UP.
A Ramsar site is categorised as a wetland of “international importance” under the Ramsar Convention’s list, which is an environmental treaty signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. The basis on which a wetland is considered to be Ramsar site are biodiversity conservation, ecological balance and providing critical habitats, particularly for migratory waterbirds.
Sauj Jheel is a shallow lake surrounded by farmland in the floodplain of the Ganga and forms part of a larger network of wetlands, contributing to ecological connectivity in the wider landscape. It is close to Saman Bird Sanctuary in Mainpuri district, another Ramsar Site declared on December 2, 2019. Earlier on June 5, Ballia’s Surha Tal, winter home to over 1,000 migratory birds was declared a Ramsar Site.
The designated wetlands in UP include the Upper Ganga River (spanning Hapur, Bulandshahr, Sambhal and Amroha districts), Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary (Unnao), Sarsai Nawar Lake (Etawah), Samaspur Bird Sanctuary (Rae Bareli), Sandi Bird Sanctuary (Hardoi), Saman Bird Sanctuary (Mainpuri), Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (Gonda), Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary (Agra), Haiderpur Wetland (Muzaffarnagar), Bakhira Bird Sanctuary (Sant Kabir Nagar), Patna Bird Sanctuary (Etah), Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary (Aligarh) and Jay Prakash Narayan (Surha Tal) Bird Sanctuary (Ballia).
{{/usCountry}}The designated wetlands in UP include the Upper Ganga River (spanning Hapur, Bulandshahr, Sambhal and Amroha districts), Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary (Unnao), Sarsai Nawar Lake (Etawah), Samaspur Bird Sanctuary (Rae Bareli), Sandi Bird Sanctuary (Hardoi), Saman Bird Sanctuary (Mainpuri), Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (Gonda), Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary (Agra), Haiderpur Wetland (Muzaffarnagar), Bakhira Bird Sanctuary (Sant Kabir Nagar), Patna Bird Sanctuary (Etah), Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary (Aligarh) and Jay Prakash Narayan (Surha Tal) Bird Sanctuary (Ballia).
{{/usCountry}}The total area covered by these Ramsar sites in the state is 43,147.15 hectares, which constitutes approximately 3.47% of the state’s total wetland area of 1,242,530 hectares (according to the National Wetland Atlas).
“Sauj Jheel supports diverse wetland-associated vegetation, including lotus and sugarcane. These habitats provide nesting and breeding sites, as well as shelter and food resources, for a variety of animal species. Vulnerable Sarus Crane (Grus Antigone) and Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga) have been recorded from here,” said Vemuri.