26 ^th   Ramsar site in India

 

Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, consisting primarily of a huge lake and ambient marshes, is situated about 64 km to the West of Ahemadabad, in the Gujarat state of India. Mainly inhabited by migratory birds in winter and spring, it is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, and one of the largest in India.

         Nalsarovar, which is home to 210 different species of birds, has been notified as a Ramsar site. About 67 km from Ahmedabad, the wetland is the first in Gujarat - and 26th in the country - to get the Ramsar Convention recognition. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a wetland ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971.

         According to the Ramsar notification, the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary is spread over 12,000 hectares and an average of 75,000 tourists visit the wetland annually. It is an important stopover site within the Central Asia Flyway for critically endangered sociable lapwing (vanellus gregarius) and the vulnerable marbled teal (marmaronetta angustirostris) during migration, while sarus crane (grus antigone) takes refuge here during summer when other water bodies are dry.