India surpasses China in number of Ramsar sites 

India surpasses China with 89 Ramsar sites, highlighting the importance of wetlands in conservation and climate change.

Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Dr. Musonda Mumba, on Sunday said that India has more Ramsar sites compared to China.

Dr. Mumba, participating in the Sinhasi Social Impact Conference 2 - Wetland Conservation and Climate Change, said India now has 89 Ramsar sites surpassing China which has 82 sites.

“India now has 89 Ramsar sites, surpassing China, which has 82 Ramsar sites. The wetland sites range from mountains to the sea,” Dr. Mumba said.

Speaking on the importance of wetlands, she said that they have tremendous value almost all of the world’s fresh water is drawn from them.

“Wetlands are the world’s largest carbon shore, they purify and filter harmful water, our food supply depends on wetlands, extreme climatic events are mitigated by wetlands, wetlands provide jobs and sustainable livelihoods, almost half of all animal species live and breed in wetlands,” she said.

On the challenges faced by them and the importance of Ramsar Sites, she said there are 2,500 sites covering over 257 million hectares around the world.

“The challenge for wetlands is that they have been used historically as waste lands; as a result of this, they are being lost at an alarming rate. Around 87% of wetlands have been lost since 1700 AD. Around 35% of wetlands have been lost since 1970,” she added.