Tamil Nadu To Notify 17 Water Bodies As Wetlands

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The Tamil Nadu government has decided to notify 17 waterbodies across the State as wetlands under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
The combined area proposed to be notified will be around 2,672 hectares. Draft notifications seeking comments from the public will be issued by the end of this month.

Once these lakes are enlisted as wetlands, the Wetland Rules will kick-in, and site-specific strategies will be chalked out for conservation and judicious use.
A comprehensive list of activities to be regulated and permitted would be developed for specific wetlands. Among the prohibited activities in notified wetlands are encroachments or urbanisation, discharge of sewage or industrial effluents, and solid waste dumping.

‘Goal is to save remaining wetlands’

The National Atlas prepared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2011 indicated Tamil Nadu as a wetland-rich State with 43,916 wetlands, including 5,013 natural wetlands, spread over more than 9 lakh hectares, which is 6.92 per cent of the State’s geographical area.
However, over the years, these wetlands were abused, and many disappeared. So the first objective is to protect what’s remaining.
Only recently, Chief Minister MK Stalin launched the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission aimed at restoring wetlands.
The mission will identify and map 100 wetlands in five years and restore the ecological balance with a focus on livelihood options at a cost of Rs 150 crore.
Under the mission, the wetlands authority has identified 150 natural wetlands and the process of mapping and demarcating boundaries has begun.

The Convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.

The Ramsar Convention works closely with six organisations known as International Organization Partners (IOPs).
These are:

There are over 2,400 Ramsar Sites covering 2.5 million sq km on the territories of 171 Ramsar ContractingParties across the world.
The world’s first Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.
Boliviahas the largest area under Ramsar protection.

The Montreux Record is a register of wetland siteson the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.

Question:
In case a wetland is registered in the Montreux Record, it means

The wetland has observed some changes in its ecological character or may likely occur in the future as a consequence of human interference
The wetland has animals that are critically endangered
The wetland is given the status of a World Heritage site
The wetland would be given protection from human interference within 5 kilometers of its range by the Government of the State