Prime Minister of India ShriNarendra Modicongratulated two top cities of the country- Indore and Udaipur on joining the list of 31 Wetland Accredited Cities in the world.

PM Modi remarked that this recognition reflects Indias strong commitment to sustainable development and nurturing harmony between nature and urban growth.
Congratulations to Indore and Udaipur! This recognition reflects our strong commitment to sustainable development and nurturing harmony between nature and urban growth. May this feat inspire everyone to keep working towards creating greener, cleaner and more eco-friendly urban spaces across our nation.

Union Minister had remarked: I am thrilled to share that in a first for India, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Udaipur in Rajasthan have joined the list of 31 Wetland Accredited Cities in the world – a testimony to PM Shri @narendramodi jis vision of marching ahead aligning economy and ecology.

The achievement reflects the emphasis laid by India on holistic development of our urban areas without compromising onecologicalconservation in both urban and rural centers. Congratulations,Madhya Pradesh, andRajasthanon this unique achievement! Let us pledge to make Viksit Bharat a Green Bharat.

The Wetland City Accreditation scheme is to encourage cities in close proximity to and dependent on wetlands, especially Wetlands of International Importance, to highlight and strengthen a positive relationship with these valuable ecosystems, for example through increased public awareness of wetlands and participation.

The Wetlands

Wetlands are land areas that are flooded with water, either seasonally or permanently. Urban wetlands are found in and around cities or their suburbs. They include rivers and their flood plains, lakes, and swamps as well as coastal variants such as salt marshes, mangroves and coral reefs.

A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor (anoxic) processes taking place, especially in the soils.

Prior to accreditation declaration, the nominated cities included Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and Udaipur (Rajasthan).

Indore city was not only one of the cleanest cities of the country and the state from the environmental point of view, but Indore also got the pride of being the first wetland city of the country. Indore, developed as an industrial area, is also maintaining balance in the field of environment.

Ramsar Sites

Ramsar Sites are designated because they meet the criteria for identifying Wetlands of International Importance. The first criterion refers to Sites containing representative, rare or unique wetland types, and the other eight cover Sites of international importance for conserving biological diversity.

As per State-wise distribution of wetlands showed that Lakshadweep has 96.12% of geographic area under wetlands followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands (18.52%), Daman and Diu (18.46%) and Gujarat (17.56%), have the highest extent of wetlands.

The Ramsar Convention was first established in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, and India became a signatory to it on February 1, 1982. Throughout the long term, the quantity of Ramsar Destinations in India has consistently expanded.

Ramsar are defined as the areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters. These sites are recognized for their ecological significance and their contributions to biodiversity conservation water purification, and livelihood support for local communities.