Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Jammu and Kashmir State by cbseinsights.com

The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies, Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh, India. 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.

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

The aim of the Ramsar list is “to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits”.

Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control, and climate regulation. They are, in fact, a major source of water, and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands that help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater. The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change would be working closely with the UT Wetland Authority to ensure wise use of this site.

Recently, India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, a conservation status conferred by International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Key Points

  • About Tso Kar Wetland Complex:
    • The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies:
      • Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south,
      • Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, 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.
    • It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per BirdLife International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
      • Important Bird Area (IBA):
        • The IBA program of the BirdLife International aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world’s birds and associated biodiversity.
        • Bird Life International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats.
      • Central Asian Flyway (CAF):
        • It covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains.
        • The Flyway comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in the Russian Federation (Siberia) to the southernmost non-breeding (wintering) grounds in West and South Asia, the Maldives, and British Indian Ocean Territory.
        • It covers at least 279 populations of 182 migratory waterbird species, including 29 globally threatened species.
    • The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the near-threatened Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.
    • It is the major breeding area for Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps Cristatus), Bar-headed Geese (Anser Indicus), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadornaferruginea), Brown-headed Gull (Larus Bunocephalus), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius Mongolus) and many other species.
  • Importance of Wetlands:
    • Wetlands are defined as “lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water”.
    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, a major source of water and the main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands that help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.

Points

  • Tso Kar wetland is India’s 42nd Ramsar site & the second in the UT of Ladakh.
  • The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies:
  • Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake to the south, &
  • Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake to the north.
  • 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.
  • Tso Kar Basin is an Important Bird Area according to BirdLife International.
  • It is a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
  • Also, the site is the most important breeding area of the Black-necked Cranes (NT) in India.