Dhanauri Wetland:
The principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government to place on record in four weeks the status of notifying the Dhanauri water body as a wetland.
- It is located in Greater Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, close to the Okhla bird sanctuary and Surajpur wetland.
- It is nestled within the floodplains of the Yamuna Basin, within 15 kms of the River Yamuna.
- The wetland, which is mostly composed of marshes, is a significant site for the vulnerable Sarus Crane (Antigone antigone).
- Besides the Sarus Crane, some of the bird species reported in the Dhanauri wetland are Common teal, Mallard, Northern-Pintail, Greylag geese, Bar-headed geese, Woolly-necked Stork, Black-necked stork, Painted Stork, and Eurasian marsh harrier among others.
- It is classified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
Sarus Crane:
- It is the world’s tallest flying bird.
- There are three subspecies of Sarus Crane in the world, namely, the Indian Sarus Crane, the Eastern Sarus Crane and the Australian Sarus Crane.It is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red List.
