Nandur Madhameshwar

Nandur Madhameshwar

The International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has declared Nandur Madhameshwar wetland in Niphad tahsil of Nashik district as Ramsar wetland. This is the first wetland in the state and among the nine wetlands in India declared by the Convention as Ramsar sites .

Nandur Madhmeshwar wetland has been formed by shallow backwaters of Nandur Madhmeshwar dam and is known as Maharashtra ‘s Bharatpur. It lies in the 100 sq km Nandur Madhameshwar sanctuary formed in 1986,

• Nandur Madhameshwsr has measured up to the seven out of nine criteria set for recognition by the Ramsar Convention. These are “rare species and threatened ecological communities, biological diversity, support during critical lifecycle stage or in adverse conditions, more than 20,000 water birds, more than one percent water bird population of one species or sub-species of water birds, significant and representative fish and fish spawning ground.                                                     

• Nandur Madhameshwar boasts of threatened plants like Indian sandalwood, threatened birds like Indian Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Common Pochard, Bristled Grass Bird, Wooly-necked stork, White-rumped vulture, Indian vulture and Egyptian vulture, threatened fish Deolali Minnow and mammal like leopard.
• As for biological diversity, the wetland houses 536 species of aquatic and terrestrial plants, eight mammal species, 265 bird species, 24 fresh water fish species and 41 butterfly species. It supports migratory birds species by serving as a wintering and stopover site and as breeding site for resident birds.
• It has more than one percent population of Common Pochard, White Stork, Common Crane, Eurashian Spoonbill and Glosdy Ibis bird species. Among fish, the wetland has Butter cat fish, Deolali minnow, Slender rasbora, Novacula razorbelly minnow and globally threatened specie Shalini barb.

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The advantages of being declared Ramsar site:

• It will help in conservation and wise use of the wetland.
• Receive national and international cooperation for conservation and management
• Receive Central funding, boost tourism
• Generate employment for locals and bring economic benefits for surrounding areas due to increased tourism 
• Create awareness for conservation of other wetlands in the state.

Wetlands:

The wetlands are land areas covered by water, either temporarily\seasonally or permanently. They play a key role in flood control, water supply and providing food, fibre and raw materials. Such land areas also support migratory birds from colder regions of the world in summers, apart from mangroves that protect coastlines and filter pollutants.

Ramsar Convention:

• Ramsar Convention is a contract among 90 countries aiming at conserving wetlands across the world.
• It was signed at Ramsar in Iran in 1971 and became operational in 1975. Since then, 37 sites in India have so far been declared as sites of international importance. Nandur Madhameshwar’s number in the list is 2410.
• The Ramsar Convention is the only global treaty that focuses specifically on wetlands
• The 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971. “Wetlands and Biodiversity” is the theme for 2020.
• The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other organisations known as International Organization Partners (IOPs). These are:

Birdlife International

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Wetlands International

WWF International

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

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