ANKASAMUDRA BIRD CONSERVATION RESERVE – ENVIRONMENT
News:
Karnataka to identify
more wetlands to secure Ramsar site tag
What's
in the news?
●
Close on the heels of three wetlands in
Karnataka being declared as Ramsar sites the State is set to initiate the
process to get two more sites recognised as wetlands of international
importance.
Key
takeaways:
●
The three wetlands which were declared as
Ramsar sites are Magadi Kere
Conservation Reserve near Gadag, Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve near
Hampi and Aghanashini Estuary close to Gokarna.
●
With this, Karnataka has four Ramsar sites
including Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Srirangapatna, which was the first
to be accorded the Ramsar tag in August 2022.
Ramsar
Site:
●
The Ramsar site tag is accorded to
wetlands that fulfil at least one or more of the nine criteria stipulated under
the Ramsar Convention which was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar on
February 2, 1971, and to which India is a signatory.
●
The convention provides a framework for conservation of wetlands.
Ankasamudra
Bird Conservation Reserve:
●
It is the first bird conservation reserve
in the North Karnataka or Kalyan
Karnataka region.
●
It was declared as a Conservation Reserve
for the protection and conservation of resident and migratory aquatic birds,
under section 36-A of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972.
Features:
●
It is a temporary water body (tank bed) spread over an area of about 244.04
acres with a good number of Karijali trees (Acacia nilotica), serving as a
breeding and roosting ground for the water birds.
●
Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve
(ABCR) is a success story of how a once dry tank was converted into a hotspot
for nesting birds through the conservation efforts of the Karnataka Forest
Department.
Importance:
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It is an ecologically important wetland and rich in biodiversity.
●
It supports more than 1% of the
biogeographic population of Painted Stork and Black-headed Ibis.