Chennai, Aug 16 (Reporter) Two more bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu has received the prestigious Ramsar site tag. The two bird sanctuaries added to the list Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary in Tiruppur district and the Kaliveli Bird Sanctuary in Villupuram district. With the addition of two more, Tamil Nadu now has the highest number of Ramsar sites in the country. The proposals submitted by the Tamil Nadu government seeking Ramsar site tag for the two sanctuaries was accepted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, Climate Change and the Ramsar Sites Secretariat and both the sanctuaries have been added to the list of Ramsar sites. Chief Minister M K Stalin hailed the addition of the two bird sanctuaries in the Ramsar site list. This achievement reflected the dedicated efforts of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Dravidian Model of Governance’s commitment to environmental conservation. In a social media post, he said "With the addition of Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary in Tiruppur District and Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary in Villupuram District, our Tamil Nadu now boasts 18 Ramsar sites." "This continuous achievement reflects the dedicated efforts of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and the Dravidian Model of Governance’s commitment to environmental conservation", he added. A Ramsar site denotes a wetland of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention, an inter-governmental treaty established by the UNESCO in 1971 and effective from 1975. It promotes efforts to conserve wetlands and use their resources sustainably, focusing on wetlands that are crucial for biodiversity, especially those that are waterfowl habitats. Among the prominent wetlands included in Ramsar sites in Tamil Nadu are the Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur, the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve in Ramanathapuram, the Vembannur Wetland Complex in Kanniyakumari, the Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary in Tirunelveli, and the Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest in Chennai...////...