Asan Conservation Reserve has become Uttarakhand’s first Ramsar site.
- According to the the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, it has become a ‘Wetland of International Importance’.
- The Reserve is located on the banks of Yamuna river near Dehradun district in Garhwal region of the Himalayan state.
- Spread across 4.44 sq km area, Asan receives about 40 migratory species, including Rudy Shelduck, Common coot, Gadwall, Kingfisher, Indian cormorant, Baer’s pochard, Northern pintail, Bar-headed goose.
- With this, the number of Ramsar sites in India goes up to 38, the highest in South Asia and Uttarakhand gets its first Ramsar site.
- Chakrata forest division is home to Asan Conservation Reserve.
About Ramsar Convention
- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.
- The Convention on Wetlands came into force for India on February 1, 1982. Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites. (Source: HT)
RAMSAR SITES IN INDIA (AS ON 18 OCTOBER 2020)