About Haiderpur wetland:
- It is a human-made wetland that was formed in 1984 by the construction of the Madhya Ganga Barrage on a floodplain of the River Ganga.
- Location: Muzaffarnagar-Bijnor border in Uttar Pradesh.
- It is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
- This provides habitat for various animal and plant species, including around 30 species of plants, 300 species of birds (102 waterbirds), 40 fish and more than ten mammal species.
- It supports more than 15 globally threatened species, such as the critically endangered gharial and the endangered hog deer, black-bellied tern, steppe eagle, Indian skimmer and gold mahseer.
- It has been recognised as the 47th Ramsar site of India in 2021.
About Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance):
- It is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
- The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
- It is the only global treaty that focuses specifically on wetlands.
- One key instrument of the Convention is its List of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”).
