Discuss the role of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 in fulfilling India's obligations under the Ramsar Convention. What gaps remain?

India now has 103 Ramsar sites, after Sukhna Wetland and Sauj Jheel were added in October 2026 [1]. The Ramsar Convention asks member countries to list important wetlands, keep their ecological character intact and promote the "wise use" of all wetlands. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 [2], are India's main domestic law for meeting these duties. They are well designed, but they are not applied evenly.

Role in fulfilling Ramsar obligations

• Legal cover for listed sites: The Rules apply to every wetland India designates as a Ramsar site (Rule 3(a)) [2].
• Ramsar terms adopted in Indian law: The 2020 guidelines tell states to list wetlands using the Ramsar definition and to apply "wise use" even to wetlands left out of notification [2].
• Decentralised institutions: State/UT Wetlands Authorities, chaired by the state's environment minister, prepare wetland inventories, regulate activities and report on wetland status every six months [2]. This supports the Convention's monitoring duty.
• Management planning: Each notified wetland is to be run under an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) [2]. Central money under the NPCA scheme is released only against these IMPs [3].
• Pipeline for new sites: States identify wetlands and MoEFCC forwards the proposals to the Ramsar Secretariat. 25 sites were designated in 2023–26 alone [4].

Gaps that remain

• Notification lag: A Ramsar site must still be separately mapped and notified under the Rules [2]. Until that happens, its boundary and the list of regulated activities remain unclear.
• Exclusions: River channels, paddy fields and man-made water bodies built for drinking water, irrigation or aquaculture are excluded from notification [2]. The Ramsar definition, by contrast, covers both natural and artificial wetlands [2].
• States regulate themselves: The same state proposes a site [4] and chairs the authority that polices it [2]. There is no independent oversight.
• Funding has not kept pace: By 2023, NPCA had funded 165 wetlands, but only 42 of them were Ramsar sites [3]. The list has since grown to 103 [1]. Amrit Dharohar was launched in June 2023 for only three years [5].

The 2017 Rules have turned Ramsar's idea of wise use into Indian law and institutions. However, listing has moved faster than notification, planning and funding. Four steps would close this gap:

• notify every Ramsar site within a fixed time;
• make IMPs compulsory;
• audit sites independently;
• publish health data for each site.

These steps would give fuller effect to Article 48A and SDG 6.6 (protecting water-related ecosystems).