Sukhna Wetland has officially been declared a Ramsar site – an international recognition which will help strengthen conservation efforts besides putting it on the global map.
Instituted under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the tag promotes the conservation and wise use of wetlands and preserving its biodiversity.
Declared a national wetland in 1988, Sukhna serves as a habitat for a range of floral and faunal species, particularly waterbirds and migratory birds travelling along the Central Asian Flyway. UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria welcomed the development, stating that it will boost conservation efforts. Among the notable species supported by the ecosystem are the vulnerable common pochard (Aythya ferina) and the endangered Pallas’s fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus). Its shallow littoral habitats also support the endangered black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii).
