Ramsar sites that are protected by the International Ramsar Wetland Convention have been declared to be Lake Meteor in Lonar in the Buldhana District of Maharashtra and Soor Sarovar in Agra. The total number of Ramsar sites in India, including the latest data, is 41, the highest in South Asia.

 

♦ The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty passed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.

♦ It entered into force for India on February 1, 1982. Those wetlands of international importance are declared Ramsar wetlands.

♦ The Convention`s mission is through local and national actions and international cooperation, to "conserve and rationally use all wetlands and to contribute to the realisation of sustainable development throughout the world."

♦ The Montreux Record is a record of wetland sites on the list of wetlands of international significance. Owing to technological growth, pollution or other human disturbances, the ecological characteristics of these wetlands have occurred, are present or may alter. As part of the Ramsar List, it is remembered.

♦ Currently, India has two wetlands in the Montreux record: Keoladeo National Park - Rajasthan and Loktak Lake - Manipur. Chilika Lake- Odisha was placed in the record, but then deleted from the record. 

 

♦ Lonar Lake, located in the volcanic basalt of the Deccan Plateau, was formed by a meteor impact between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago. The lake is part of the Lonar Wildlife Sanctuary, which is under the unified control of the Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR).

♦ It is also named the Moon Crater and is a National Geological Heritage Monument that has been notified. Geographical heritage refers to geographical structures that can provide insight into the earth`s evolution or history, or can be used for education, of intrinsic or cultural meaning.

♦ It is the second Ramsar site in Maharashtra, second only to Nandur Madhmeshwar bird sanctuary in the Nashik region. The water of the lake is highly salty and alkaline, and contains special microorganisms such as anaerobic bacteria, cyanobacteria and phytoplankton.

 

♦ Located in the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, which was declared a bird sanctuary in 1991, it is also known as Lake Keetham. The lake is situated in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, along the Yamuna River. An region of 7.97 square kilometres covers the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. There are more than 165 migratory and resident bird species today. It also has a bear rescue centre to rescue bears from dancing.

 

Karnataka has declared that 6.64 billion hectares (almost 67 percent) of the state`s 994,000 hectares of forest will be declassified and handed over to the tax bureau. The recognised forest issue is a contentious issue in Karnataka, and cross-party legislators frequently argue that "unscientifically" identified as such issues are large quantities of agricultural and non-forest land.

 

♦ Deemed forests are a contentious subject, comprising about 1% of India`s forest land, as they refer to land tracts that appear to be a "forest" but have not been notified by the government or in historical records.

♦ The concept of deemed forests has not even been clearly defined in any law including the Forest Conservation Act 1980.

♦ Areas included in Karnataka: The expert committee formed by the state government determined the "deemed forest" as:

-Regardless of ownership, land with forest characteristics.

-The densely wooded area of the tax bureau has not been handed over to the forest department.

-It is recommended that densely forested areas be handed over to the Ministry of Forestry.

-The dense woodland is allocated to the transferee, but there is no cultivation.

-Dense plantation in the forest department.

♦ In its 1997 and 2002 reports, the Expert Committee established 4,318 million hectares of forest land in Karnataka, including 33,23 billion hectares of recorded forest area based on forest records and 994 million hectares of reported forest land. "deemed forests. ".