04-01-2021 | 14:08 PM
Tso Kar Wetland Complex
Context
Tso Kar Wetland Complex becomes India’s 42nd Ramsar site, a conservation status conferred by International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
About Tso Kar Wetland Complex
The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, Located in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
Its Surface area is 22 square kms.
The local climate is arid, and glacial meltwater is the primary water source for the lakes.
It consists of two main water bodies Startsapuk Tso and Tso Kar.
The Startsapuk Tso is a freshwater lake.
The Tso Kar lake is a hypersaline lake.
The name ‘Tso Kar’ means – white lake, which is because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.
According to the Bird Life International, Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area and it is a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
This site is also the most important breeding areas of the Black necked in India.
This IBA is also the major breeding site for:
Great Crested Grebe
Bar-headed Geese
Ruddy Shelduck
Brown-headed Gull
Lesser Sand-Plover
The basin of the Tso Kar and the adjoining More Plains constitute one of the most important habitats of the kiang, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan wolves and foxes.
Flora and fauna of the Tso Kar Wetland Complex
According to the Bird Life International, Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area and it is a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
This site is also the most important breeding areas of the Black necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.
This IBA is also the major breeding site for:
Great Crested Grebe (Podicepscristatus),
Bar-headed Geese (Anserindicus),
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea),
Brown-headed Gull (Larusbrunnicephalus),
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadriusmongolus) and many other species.
The basin of the Tso Kar and the adjoining More Plains constitute one of the most important habitats of the kiang, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan wolves and foxes.
Numerous threatened species which inhibit the site are: the endangered Faker Falcon (Falco cherrug) and Asiatic wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus laniger), and the vulnerable Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia).
Ramsar Convention
It is officially known as ‘the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’ or ‘the Convention on Wetlands’.
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.
Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites.
The convention was signed on 2nd February, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
It came into force on 21 December 1975.
It is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords for preserving the ecological character of wetlands of international importance.
In India, the convention entered into force on 1 February 1982.
