BENGALURU: After a wait of over ten years, Karnataka got its first Ramsar site on Wednesday. The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) declared Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Mandya as a Ramsar site. With this, the forest department, local administration and tourism department will not just be able to ensure better conservation but also scale up its eco-tourism potential to international standards. Located in the mid-stream of the Cauvery river, Ranganathittu is an integral part of the wetland system and spreads across 517.70 hectares.
It also finds a place in the Important Bird Areas (IBA) list of 42 sites in Karnataka that are identified by the Bombay Natural History Society. Ranganthittu houses 188 species of plants, 225 species of birds, 69 species of fish, 13 species of frogs, 98 species of medicinal plants and 30 species of butterflies.
It is an important breeding site for around 20 species of water birds, 17 of which breed on trees growing on islands on the spot. It houses healthy populations of mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the endangered hump-backed mahseer fish (Tor remadevii).
The site supports over 1 per cent of the world’s population of Asian openbill, spot-billed pelican and black-headed ibis birds. An official from the State Wetland Authority told The New Indian Express, “The work on declaring some more Ramsar sites in Karnataka is underway.
They include Agnashini in Kumta, Ankasamudra in Ballari, Magadi in Gadag and Tungabhadra backwaters. More than us, MoEFCC is keen as the central wetland authority has assessed the waterbodies and commented that it is unfortunate that Karnataka had no such site so far. The Centre is aiming at declaring 75 Ramsar sites by August 15, in line with the country’s 75th year of Independence.”
The proposal to declare Ranganthittu as a Ramsar site was mooted by former chief conservator of forests, UV Singh. The country has 64 Ramsar sites now, and on Wednesday, MoEFCC added Nanda Lake in Goa, Sirpur wetland in Madhya Pradesh and Satkosia Gorge in Odisha along with Ranganathitu to the list.