Glaw Lake in Arunachal Pradesh)
Glaw Lake in Arunachal Pradesh (Geography)
Why In News:
Glaw Lake in Arunachal Pradesh was designated as the state's first Ramsar Site, pushing India's tally past the century mark.
Source: PIB Today, 3 August 2026 - 'City Lakes, Ramsar Site (India)'; The Arunachal Times, 4 August 2026 - 'Glaw Lake is Arunachal's first Ramsar site'
About Glaw Lake
Glaw Lake is situated in Arunachal Pradesh, within the Eastern Himalayan region.
It is the first designated Ramsar Site of the state, highlighting its international ecological importance.
The lake lies inside the Kamlang Tiger Reserve, enhancing its conservation value.
It is positioned at an altitude of around 1,168 metres, representing a high-altitude freshwater ecosystem.
The surrounding terrain is characterised by dense forests and mountainous landscapes.
What is the Ramsar Convention?
Full name: the Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty signed at Ramsar, Iran in 1971; it entered into force in 1975.
India is a Contracting Party and has been part of the Convention since 1982.
The Convention promotes the conservation and wise use of wetlands through local, national and international cooperative action.
A wetland qualifies as a Ramsar Site if it satisfies any one of nine criteria, including being ecologically unique, supporting threatened species, or maintaining biodiversity and critical life-cycle stages.
It may also qualify if it sustains large populations of waterbirds (≥20,000 or 1%), important fish habitats, or significant wetland-dependent non-avian species.
India's Ramsar Sites
With the addition of Glaw Lake, India's total Ramsar Site count moves past 100.
India ranks first in Asia and third globally (after the UK and Mexico) in the number of Ramsar Sites.
Tamil Nadu has the highest number of Ramsar Sites among Indian states, followed by Uttar Pradesh.
The Sundarban Wetland (West Bengal) is India's largest Ramsar Site; the Renuka Wetland (Himachal Pradesh) is among the smallest.
Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), both designated in 1981, are India's oldest Ramsar Sites.
The Montreux Record lists Ramsar Sites facing conservation concerns; Keoladeo National Park and Loktak Lake (Manipur) feature on this record.