Ramsar Sites of Bhutan

Bhutan is a Contracting Party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, commonly known as the Ramsar Convention. The country acceded on 7 September 2012, becoming the convention's 161st Contracting Party. As of the most recent Ramsar Sites Information Service entries, Bhutan has designated three Wetlands of International Importance, all of them seasonal high-altitude wetlands that serve as wintering grounds for the vulnerable black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis).^[1]

The three Ramsar sites are Bumdeling in Trashi Yangtse dzongkhag, designated on 7 September 2012; Khotokha in Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag, also designated on 7 September 2012; and Gangtey-Phobji (Phobjikha valley), also in Wangdue Phodrang, designated as Ramsar site number 2264 on 2 May 2014. Bumdeling lies within the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary; Phobjikha is co-managed under a conservation framework involving the Department of Forests and Park Services and the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN).^[2]

Together, the three sites cover approximately 1,225 hectares and represent the principal high-altitude wetland habitat in Bhutan formally listed under an international biodiversity convention. The 2018 National Wetland Inventory of Bhutan identified additional candidate sites, although no further Ramsar designation has been published since 2014.

The Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an inter-governmental treaty adopted at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 and entering into force in 1975. It commits Contracting Parties to the conservation and "wise use" of wetlands, the designation of at least one Wetland of International Importance and the development of national wetland policies. As of the mid-2020s the convention had over 170 Contracting Parties and more than 2,400 designated sites. Bhutan's accession on 7 September 2012 followed several years of preparatory work led by the National Environment Commission and the RSPN.^[1]

Bumdeling

Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1998, lies in north-eastern Bhutan in Trashi Yangtse dzongkhag. The Bumdeling Ramsar site is centred on the wetland complex within the sanctuary at an altitude of approximately 1,850 metres. It is one of three principal wintering sites in Bhutan for the black-necked crane, with around 150 birds typically recorded each winter, and supports a wider waterbird community in the cold months. The site was designated on 7 September 2012 as one of Bhutan's two inaugural Ramsar sites.^[3]

Khotokha

Khotokha lies at an average altitude of 2,617 metres in Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag, west of the Black Mountain Range. The Ramsar information sheet describes the site as a series of marshes, peat bogs and fens of significant hydrological value as a water source for downstream agricultural communities. Khotokha was historically a wintering ground for black-necked cranes, although Kuensel reporting in the 2010s noted that crane numbers there had declined sharply, with the birds shifting their wintering sites to Phobjikha and Bumdeling. The site was designated on 7 September 2012.^[4]

Gangtey-Phobji

The Gangtey-Phobji Ramsar site, covering approximately 975 hectares of Phobjikha valley in central Wangdue Phodrang, is the largest of Bhutan's Ramsar designations and the most-visited. The valley is the principal wintering ground for the black-necked crane, with around 400–500 birds recorded each year between November and February. The site was designated on 2 May 2014 as Ramsar site number 2264, the third in Bhutan. The Royal Society for Protection of Nature operates a crane information centre at Khewang and runs the annual Black-necked Crane Festival at Gangtey monastery.^[5]

National Wetland Inventory and Policy Context

The 2018 National Wetland Inventory of Bhutan, prepared by the National Environment Commission with support from the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, identified a longer list of wetland systems eligible for protection, including high-altitude lakes in Jigme Dorji National Park and the marsh complexes of Wangchuck Centennial National Park. Designation of further sites has been raised periodically in National Council deliberations and in international biodiversity-convention forums, but no additional Ramsar listings have been published as of the date of this article. Bhutan's wetland conservation framework is therefore currently anchored on the 2012 and 2014 designations and on the broader protected-area system that contains them.^[6]

References

1. "Bhutan Joins Ramsar, Designates Two Wetlands of International Importance" — SDG Knowledge Hub
2. "Bumdeling and Khotokha designated as Ramsar sites" — The Bhutanese
3. "Bhutan's first two Ramsar Sites" — Ramsar Convention Secretariat
4. "Black-necked cranes disappearing from Khotokha?" — Kuensel
5. Ramsar Information Sheet for Site no. 2264, Gangtey-Phobji, Bhutan
6. "Biodiversity of Bhutan" — Bhutan CBD Clearing-House