Sarsai Nawar Wetland, also known as Sarsai Nawar Jheel is a bird sanctuary in Sarsai Nawar, Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It aims to conserve waterbirds, notably the Sarus Crane. It has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2019.
The Etawah’s Sarsai Nawar Wetland, which ecosystem was almost collapsed and later restored by noble efforts of environment enthusiasts, is now attracting thousands of Sarus cranes and other migrating birds. These birds use this wetland to rest and feed during their cross-continental journeys.“The wetland area of 161.27 hectare was almost destroyed. What we saw over there in 2012 wasn’t enough for birds to stay while they travel long distance,” said Prabhat Mishra, an environment enthusiast, who is now deputy director, National Savings in Agra division. Mishra is also founder of the Red Tape Foundation and was then posted in Etawah.
Mishra’s worry for the wetland got support from the then district magistrate (DM) of Etawah, Vidya Bhushan, who asked for a plan to restore it. “The initial plan was of over ₹35 lakh but we did complete the work in a record 7 days and in just ₹3.5 lakh,” he said.
The technical support was extended by Rajiv Chauhan, who is an expert on Sarus and their natural habitat. The wetland got its depth of about 2-meters and three ponds were developed around the island in the wetland.