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Maharashtra forest dept proposes to seek Ramsar tag for Thane Creek
The Maharashtra forest department has moved a proposal to seek the Ramsar certification for Thane Creek, including the area currently protected as the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) as well as the surrounding eco-sensitive zone (ESZ)
The Maharashtra forest department has moved a proposal to seek the Ramsar certification for Thane Creek, including the area currently protected as the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) as well as the surrounding eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), mangrove cell, made the announcement during an online town hall meeting organised by Climate Voices – a consortium of three organisations working in the climate and environment space – along with the environment department’s Majhi Vasundhara initiative on Monday, July 26, observed as World Mangroves Day.
“A proposal to declare Thane Creek as a Ramsar site has been submitted and we are working on it with the Maharashtra environment department. We are waiting for its approval by the state wetland authority, headed by Maharashtra environment minister Aaditya Thackeray. Following this, it will be sent to the Union environment ministry,” said Tiwari.
A Ramsar site is a wetland area designated to be of international importance – especially for water birds – under an intergovernmental environmental treaty known as the Ramsar Convention. The treaty provides a framework for nations to conserve such wetlands while seeking international cooperation and resources where required.
There are only two Ramsar sites in Maharashtra – the Lonar Crater Lake in Buldhana and the Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary in Nashik – while overall, India has 40 such sites. If accepted by the Ramsar Convention, Thane Creek will be the first such site in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
On July 8, Tiwari had written to principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Sunil Limaye with a draft of the official Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS) required for submission to the international authority. Limaye then forwarded the request to the principal secretary (forest department) on July 14, seeking that the proposal be sent to the Central government for approval.
“Thane Creek is fringed by mangroves on both the banks and comprises around 20% of the total Indian mangrove species. These comprise of true mangroves (13 species) and mangrove associates (36 species)... The high species diversity of birds in TCFS and presence of many globally important species along with the rich abundance of lesser flamingos (near threatened) and greater flamingos (makes) this area globally significant and the site has also been categorised as an Important Bird Area (IBA). It is an important part of the wetland complex of the Central Asian Flyway of the birds (sic),” the forest department said in RIS, a copy of which is with HT.
Besides flamingos, the creek harbours more than 202 bird species, many of which are considered as threatened and endangered. The other fauna includes 18 species of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, 59 species of butterflies, 67 species of insects, 35 species of phytoplankton, 24 species of zooplankton and 23 species of benthic organisms.
“Owing to the uniqueness of the habitat for lesser flamingos located amidst the three chaotic megacities (Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane), its biodiversity, and plethora of services (both tangible and non-tangible) associated with site at local, regional and global levels, makes the protection and management of Thane Creek a conservation priority,” the forest department submitted in its proposal.
Environmentalists have also been campaigning for other important birding areas such as Panje wetland in Uran to be declared as Ramsar sites.
Stalin D, director of NGO Vanashakti, lauded the move, which he said is “10 years too late”.
“As a protected bird sanctuary, it is still easy to divert land for infrastructure purposes. But as a Ramsar site, both the state and Central governments will be accountable before an international body. So the stakes for conservation are certainly higher,” he said.
