What is wetland? Explain the Ramsar concept of 'wise use' in the context of wetland conservation. Cite two…

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What is wetland? Explain the Ramsar concept of 'wise use' in the context of wetland conservation. Cite two examples of Ramsar sites from India.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

A wetland is any natural or artificial area of marsh, peatland or water, including shallow marine water, and Ramsar's wise use means maintaining its ecological character while people use it sustainably. Chilika Lake in Odisha left the Montreux Record in 2002 after its sea mouth was reopened.

**Introduction**

The Ramsar Convention (1971), which India joined in 1982, protects wetlands through three pillars: wise use, designation of Wetlands of International Importance and international cooperation.

**Wetland and the Ramsar Concept of Wise Use**

1. **Wetland defined**: Under Article 1 of the Convention, a wetland is any area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, fresh, brackish or salt, including marine water up to six metres deep at low tide.
2. **Wise use**: It means maintaining a wetland's ecological character through ecosystem approaches within sustainable development, so fishing, grazing and tourism continue only while the wetland's functions survive.

SKETCH: flow-cycle | Wise Use Cycle
- Inventory wetland
- Management plan
- Sustainable local use
- Monitor ecological character
- Corrective action

3. **Instruments**: Parties apply wise use through wetland policies, inventories, management plans and community participation, list degrading sites on the Montreux Record, and in India the Wetlands Rules, 2017 bar reclamation and encroachment.

**Ramsar Sites from India**

1. **Chilika Lake, Odisha**: Placed on the Montreux Record in 1993, it recovered after the Chilika Development Authority opened a new sea mouth in 2000 and left the Record in 2002.
2. **Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan**: One of India's first Ramsar sites (1981), it remains on the Montreux Record because water from the Panchna dam is unreliable.
3. **East Kolkata Wetlands**: Designated in 2002, its sewage-fed fisheries treat Kolkata's wastewater while producing fish and vegetables, a classic wise-use model.

**Conclusion**

Wise use treats wetlands as working ecosystems rather than land to be reclaimed. Community-led management on the Chilika model can secure water, livelihoods and biodiversity across India's growing Ramsar network.

What is wetland? Explain the Ramsar concept of 'wise use' in the context of wetland conservation. Cite two examples of Ramsar sites from India.

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