Chandigarh, Feb. 20 -- With the Centre approving Chandigarh's proposal to designate the Sukhna Wetland as a Ramsar site, the Union government will now forward the formal nomination to the Ramsar secretariat for granting it international recognition, marking a significant step towards strengthening conservation of the iconic waterbody. A senior official of the UT forest department said the proposal has been approved by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change and endorsed by the ministry of external affairs. "The formal application will now be sent to the Ramsar secretariat for according international status. We are hopeful that the designation will be granted within a month," the officer said. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. The proposal to secure Ramsar status for the wetland was cleared in September last year at the fourth meeting of the State Wetland Authority, chaired by UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, in a major push towards long-term conservation. Spread over nearly 565 acres with a catchment area of 10,395 acres, the Sukhna Wetland holds immense ecological significance. It was declared a national wetland in 1988, underlining its importance for biodiversity conservation. The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary was established in its catchment area to protect the fragile ecosystem. Despite facing environmental pressures and human-induced challenges over the decades, the wetland continues to support endangered species, ecologically significant plant and animal populations, and species dependent on wetlands at critical stages of their life cycles. Officials said the wetland meets three of the nine Ramsar criteria, which experts consider sufficient for designation as a Ramsar site....