New Delhi, March 24 -- Of the country's estimated over 200,000 wetlands, only 102 have been notified and even these are concentrated in three states and one Union territory, data from the environment ministry has revealed.
While Rajasthan has notified 75 wetlands and Goa 25, both Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh have notified one each, revealed the data shared by the ministry in response to an RTI.
The lack of protection for wetlands, a "common" resource in India which are biodiversity hotspots under extreme threat from climate crisis, perhaps stems from the resource being a state subject, the ministry said separately in response to queries seeking details on the ownership of the resource.
Wetlands comprise approximately 4.8% of the total ge...