UNESCO Declares Indore as Wetland City
India's cleanest city, Indore, and Udaipur from Rajasthan have now been included in the list of the world's 31 Wetland Cities. This historic achievement was announced by Union Minister for Forests and Environment Bhupender Yadav on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his happiness on this accomplishment of both cities through a post on X.
Indore took significant steps towards this recognition by declaring two of its ponds, Sirpur and Yashwant Sagar, as Ramsar sites. Along with the conservation of these ponds, several steps were taken to protect the surrounding wet and barren lands. Encroachments around both ponds were removed, and development work was carried out to ensure that the land, water, and the associated biodiversity remain preserved.
Indore, the number one cleanest city in India, and Udaipur are now part of the world's select 31 Wetland Cities. UNESCO's Ramsar Convention has granted them international recognition and status as Wetland Cities.
UNESCO had launched the Wetland City recognition program during the 12th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention in 2015. The program aims to honor and recognize cities that are seriously working towards preserving sensitive ecosystems connected to their wetlands and natural water resources, and are making positive efforts in this direction.
