India’s 10 More Wetlands got the Ramsar Site Tag

Current context: Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance.

• The Ramsar Convention is an inter-governmental accord signed on 2nd February 1971 by member countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
• Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
• The aim of the Ramsar list is:

1. To develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity
2. For sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

• Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.
• With this recognition, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares.
• The 10 Ramsar sites newly added include:

1. Nandur Madhameshwar (Maharashtra)
2. Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal (Punjab)
3. Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and SarsaiNawar (Uttar Pradesh)

Question: 

Q.1 Presently, the total number of Ramsar Sites in India is __________? 
a. 65
b. 50
c. 42
d. 37