The Ramsar Convention is an intra-governmental agreement that promotes national action which was framed to conserve natural resources on a worldwide scale. Rajasthan is home to two of India’s 25 Ramsar Sites: Sambhar Salt Lake and Keoladeo National Park (KNP). Due to the extreme shortages of water, periodic droughts, and starvation in this region of the world, residents of the desert state of Rajasthan have historically maintained and cared for the wetlands like a treasure. In the current study, the spectral indices (NDVI, NDWI) and change in land use/cover pattern were computed using the Landsat 9 OLI/TIRS data (Collection 2 Level-2) and Landsat 1 MSS data (Collection 2 Level-1) to examine the changes that have occurred in the two Ramsar sites of Rajasthan—Keoladeo National Park (KNP) and Sambhar Lake over the last fifty years. The geographical region covered by each class of the spectral indices (NDVI, NDWI) and LULC has been calculated to assess the changes in different landscape features (plant cover, surficial water bodies, saline soil, salt pan, salt-encrusted, and barren land). The results find that the Ramsar sites of Rajasthan were not in favorable condition for the last five decades due to increasing anthropogenic activities in and around the wetland. Environmental education and awareness are required to symbolize the importance of the Ramsar Convention to stop the vulnerability of inland wetlands. Continued regional, national, and international efforts are required to inform the public and decision-makers about the environmental problem faced by wetlands to save it.

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Assessment of the Last 50 Years Temporal Changes in the Two Ramsar Sites of Rajasthan—Keoladeo National Park and Sambhar Lake Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

  • Pooja Chauhan,
  • Mamata Ngangom

摘要

The Ramsar Convention is an intra-governmental agreement that promotes national action which was framed to conserve natural resources on a worldwide scale. Rajasthan is home to two of India’s 25 Ramsar Sites: Sambhar Salt Lake and Keoladeo National Park (KNP). Due to the extreme shortages of water, periodic droughts, and starvation in this region of the world, residents of the desert state of Rajasthan have historically maintained and cared for the wetlands like a treasure. In the current study, the spectral indices (NDVI, NDWI) and change in land use/cover pattern were computed using the Landsat 9 OLI/TIRS data (Collection 2 Level-2) and Landsat 1 MSS data (Collection 2 Level-1) to examine the changes that have occurred in the two Ramsar sites of Rajasthan—Keoladeo National Park (KNP) and Sambhar Lake over the last fifty years. The geographical region covered by each class of the spectral indices (NDVI, NDWI) and LULC has been calculated to assess the changes in different landscape features (plant cover, surficial water bodies, saline soil, salt pan, salt-encrusted, and barren land). The results find that the Ramsar sites of Rajasthan were not in favorable condition for the last five decades due to increasing anthropogenic activities in and around the wetland. Environmental education and awareness are required to symbolize the importance of the Ramsar Convention to stop the vulnerability of inland wetlands. Continued regional, national, and international efforts are required to inform the public and decision-makers about the environmental problem faced by wetlands to save it.