Context: India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, the second one in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

About Tso Kar Basin 

• The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex.
• The complex is a notable example of two connected lakes, the freshwater Startsapuk Tso and the hypersaline Tso Kar situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
• It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.

Significance

• The TSO Kar basin is categorised as A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per the Bird Life International and is also a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
• The basin is one of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.
• It is also a major breeding area for the Bar-headed Geese (Anserindicus), Great Crested Grebe (Podicepscristatus), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadriusmongolus) and Brown-headed Gull (Larusbrunnicephalus) and many other species.

What is a Ramsar site?

• Any wetland listed under the Ramsar Convention or the Convention of Wetlands, which intends to preserve the site is known as a Ramsar site. The sites are one of the major protected areas in the world.
• The Ramsar Convention was established on February 2, 1971 with the signing of an International Treaty for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands at a city of Iran called Ramsar. Hence, the convention is named Ramsar and the sites are known as Ramsar sites.
• The key aim of the Ramsar list is to maintain an international network of wetlands that are significant for sustaining human life and for the conservation of global biological diversity through the maintenance of their ecosystem processes, components and benefits.

Importance of Wetland 

• The wetlands are home to key resources and ecosystem services including water, groundwater recharge, water purification, food, fibre, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
• The wetlands are a major source of water and the main supply of fresh water, as the wetlands soak in rainfall and recharge groundwater.
• Following the classification of the site as a Ramsar site, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change would be working closely with the UT Wetland Authority to ensure wise use of this site.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MjMyMzkw/Asan-Conservation-Reserve--Uttarakhand-s-first-wetland-into-Ramsar-list-Environment-and-Ecology-IAS