Ayeyarwady island eyed as Ramsar Site
The Forest Department wants to upgrade an island in Ayeyarwady Region that is a nesting site for sea turtles from its current status as a protected area to a Ramsar Site.
A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established by UNESCO in 1971 and enforced in 1975.
Thamihla Kyun wildlife sanctuary, or Diamond Island, will be nominated as an international wetland, or Ramsar Site, a department official said.
Sea turtles return to the island every year to lay their eggs on the beach and then return to the sea with their babies.
“It is an important site for turtles. We are trying to complete the data so it will meet the criteria as a Ramsar Site,” said U Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, deputy director of the department.
MYAT MOE AUNG
