India's Ramsar network has expanded rapidly since 2022, yet designation alone does not guarantee conservation. Critically examine.

India's Ramsar tally reached 103 in October 2026 with the addition of Sukhna Wetland (Chandigarh) and Sauj Jheel (Uttar Pradesh) [1]. Twenty-five sites were designated in 2023–26 alone, compared with 75 in the four decades before [2]. The expansion is a real gain, but whether these wetlands are conserved depends on what happens after listing.

Gains from rapid designation

• Wider ownership: States/UTs identify the sites and send proposals, and the Centre forwards them. The network now spans 26 States/UTs [2].
• Domestic legal cover: Ramsar sites come under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, which ban converting wetlands to other uses and dumping untreated waste [3].
• Livelihood linkage: Amrit Dharohar (June 2023) links Ramsar sites to eco-tourism and local jobs [7].
• Global scrutiny can work: Chilika was placed on the Montreux Record, the Ramsar list of degraded sites, in 1993 because of siltation. It was removed in 2002 after rehabilitation [5].

Why designation alone falls short

• Notification gap: MoEFCC's 2020 guidelines say each site must also be notified separately in law, with fixed boundaries and an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) [3]. Until that is done, the bans in the Rules are hard to enforce on the ground.
• Funding lag: by March 2023, the NPCA had funded 165 wetlands, but only 42 of them were Ramsar sites. Money is released only after an IMP is submitted [4].
• Threats from outside the boundary: Loktak has stayed on the Montreux Record since 1993 because of catchment deforestation, water hyacinth and pollution. These are problems beyond the listed site [6].
• Conflict of roles: the State proposes Ramsar sites and also regulates them through its own State Wetlands Authority [3].
• Tourism pressure: the government promotes new sites as nature-tourism destinations from the day of listing [1], which can come before any management plan is in place.

Rapid listing has raised the profile of India's wetlands, but the real test is whether the sites stay healthy. MoEFCC should notify every site within a fixed time, release NPCA funds against time-bound IMPs, and plan at the catchment level. Publishing how many sites are notified, have IMPs and are funded would turn the growing tally into lasting gains for SDG 6 and SDG 15 and for the Article 48A mandate to protect the environment.