Odisha’s Satkosia Gorge among 10 more wetlands designated as Ramsar sites in India

Biswajeet Swain Published On : Aug 3, 2022 at 9:13 PM

Bhubaneswar: India today added 10 more wetlands designated as Ramsar sites, including Satkosia Gorge in Odisha, making it a total of 64 sites covering an area of 12,50,361 hectares in the country.

Designation of these sites would help in conservation and management of wetlands and wise use of their resources.

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India is one of the Contracting Parties to Ramsar Convention signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971. India signed it on 1st February, 1982.

10 wetlands designated as Ramsar sites:

S.No	Name of wetland	Area in Ha	State	Date of Designation	Page No.
	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary	72.04	Tamil Nadu	08-11-2021	2-3
	Satkosia Gorge	98196.72	Odisha	12-10-2021	4-5
	Nanda Lake	42.01	Goa	08-06-2022	6-7
	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	52671.88	Tamil Nadu	08-04-2022	8-9
	Ranganathittu BS	517.70	Karnataka	15-02-2022	10-11
	Vembanur Wetland Complex	19.75	Tamil Nadu	08-04-2022	12-13
	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	77.19	Tamil Nadu	08-04-2022	14-15
	Sirpur wetland	161	Madhya Pradesh	07-01-2022	16-17
	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	40.35	Tamil Nadu	08-04-2022	18-19
	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	43.77	Tamil Nadu	08-04-2022	20-21
	Total area of 10 wetlands	1,51,842.41
	TOTAL area of 64 Ramsar Sites in India (After designation of 10 more sites as above)	12,50,361

Satkosia spreads along the magnificent gorge over Mahanadi river in Odisha. Established in 1976 as a wildlife sanctuary, Satkosia supports a rich ecosystem, representing a diverse population of floral and faunal species.

Satkosia is the meeting point of two biogeographic regions of India; the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, contributing immense biodiversity. Satkosia Gorge wetland is a mosaic of marshes and evergreen forests.

The forests of these catchments play a vital role in the prevention of the gorge siltation. It also helps in maintaining a specific desirable depth of water crucial for the endangered gharial population and spawning of commercially important carps species.