Dihaila Jheel—a new candidate for the Ramsar Convention

Abstract

Wetland and waterfowl protection has become a major concern of the Indian Government recently. Among the 300 or so wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in India, wetland habitat is under-represented. There are nearly 20 bird sanctuaries, but only two wetlands—Bharatpur and Chilka—are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention). There is certainly great scope to add more sites to the Ramsar list of wetlands. The author has identified one candidate—Dihaila Jheel in Madhya Pradesh state—and exciting new initiatives are now being taken to protect and manage it with a view to recommending it as a Ramsar site.