The Pala Wetland of Mizoram is one of the latest destinations to be declared a Ramsar Wetland Site. It is the forth location in Northeast India and the first in Mizoram.
The Pala Wetland is located in the Mara Autonomous District Council of Mizoram. Alongside being a very important destination for the local people, it is an area rich in both flora and fauna. And since many of them are endemic to the region, protection is of upmost importance. Apart from being a home for the Hoolock gibbon and Phayre’s leaf monkey, this wetland is essential part of both cultural and economy of the Mara community.
The Convention of Wetlands was hosted in the city of Ramsar in Iran in 1971. This was a treaty signed by multiple countries to create a format in order to protect wetlands with the resources associated. As the mark to celebrate the signing of this agreement, the 2nd of February is celebrated as the World Wetland Day.
Northeast India is very rich in terms of ecology and number of species that live there. This makes the multiple wetlands of the region are of upmost importance. To that end, several locations have been marked as the Ramsar Wetland. The Deepor Beel in Assam, Loktak lake in Manipur and Rudrasagar Lake in Tripura were already under this protected status before Pala Wetland.
Feature Image courtesy Jenisha Aggarwal.
