NEW DELHI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- India has added three more wetlands to the list of Wetlands of International Importance, also known as Ramsar Sites, taking the number of such sites in the country to 85, officials said Wednesday.
The announcement of adding three more sites -- two in Tamil Nadu and one in Madhya Pradesh -- to the list was made by Bhupender Yadav, federal minister of environment, forest and climate change.
"I take this opportunity to congratulate the states of Tamil Nadu, which has added Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary and Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary, and Madhya Pradesh, which has added Tawa Reservoir, to the list of India's Ramsar sites," the minister said.
The federal environment ministry said these newly designated sites are a testament to the significant policy push from the ministry for wetlands conservation and management in the country.
India became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1982. The convention is an intergovernmental environmental treaty that provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands.
