On August 19, 2012, it will be 10 years since the brackish water
Ashtamudi Lake with eight creeks was declared a Ramsar site by
designating it as a wetland of international importance. The lake was
recommended by the Ramsar Convention’s partner organisations as a
wetland of 61.4 sq km. And the lake entered the Ramsar list as site
number 1,204.
However, since then, the area of the lake has shrunk to 34 sq km and it
is facing serious environmental degradation. Revenue authorities dispute
the 61.4 sq km extent but agree that the lake may have shrunk by at
least 5 sq km in the past 10 years.
Internationally there are 2,046 wetlands designated Ramsar sites and
India has 25. The main purpose of declaring an important wetland as
Ramsar site is to enable its conservation through local and
national-level action with international cooperation for achieving
sustainable development.
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