India is a party to the Ramsar Convention and has declared many areas as Ramsar Sites. Which of the following statements best describes as to how we should maintain these sites in the context of the Convention.

The Ramsar Convention emphasizes ‘wise use’ — the maintenance of the ecological character of wetlands achieved through implementation of ecosystem approaches within the context of sustainable development. This principle explicitly links conservation with sustainable use rather than strict exclusion or time‑limited non‑use [2]. Therefore Ramsar Sites should be conserved via ecosystem approaches while permitting their sustainable use by people (including compatible tourism, recreation and resource use) so long as ecological character is maintained. Options 1 and 2 are overly restrictive or narrowly focused, and option 3’s notion of temporary non‑use followed by later exploitation does not reflect the Convention’s ongoing, simultaneous conservation and sustainable‑use mandate [2].

Sources

1. [1] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) > p. 53
2. [2] https://moef.gov.in/uploads/2019/09/Identifying-and-Managing-Wetlands-of-International-Importance_-Brochure.pdf