Ramsar Sites in India

1. At a Glance

• A Ramsar Site is a wetland listed as a "Wetland of International Importance" under the Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands). A site is listed for its ecological, botanical, zoological, limnological or hydrological value [1].
• India has 103 Ramsar Sites covering over 13.87 lakh ha in 28 States/UTs, up from 26 in 2014 [1].
• India ranks 1st in Asia and 3rd in the world by number of sites [1].
• Why it matters: it covers the biodiversity, climate-resilience, water-security and federal-governance parts of GS-III. It is also tested almost every year in Prelims (new sites, criteria, "firsts" by state).

2. Why in the News

• 25 Oct 2026: PIB says India's network has reached 103 sites, a near-fourfold rise since 2014 [1].
• 2026 designations:
• Patna Bird Sanctuary (Etah, UP) and Chhari-Dhand (Kutch, Gujarat), announced ahead of World Wetlands Day 2026 [2]
• Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary, the 99th site [3]
• Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal), the 100th site [4]

• Glaw Lake, the 101st site and Arunachal Pradesh's first [5]

• Ramsar COP15 (Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 23–31 July 2025) adopted India's resolution on "Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles for the Wise Use of Wetlands" [1][10].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2 Feb 1971: Convention adopted at Ramsar, Iran [1].
• 1975: Convention entered into force [1].
• 1 Feb 1982: India became a Contracting Party [1].
• 2014: India had 26 sites [1].
• 2017: Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 [12].
• 2022: 10 wetlands added, total 64 [7].
• Feb 2024: 5 wetlands added before World Wetlands Day, total 80 [9].
• Aug 2024: 3 more added on the eve of Independence Day [8].
• Feb 2025: World Wetlands Day held at Parvati Arga Ramsar Site, Gonda (UP). Theme: "Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future" [6].
• July 2025: India's resolution adopted at COP15 [1][10].
• 2026: sites 98 → 101 between Jan and Aug [2][3][4][5]. Total reached 103 by Oct [1].
• Related schemes: NPCA, Amrit Dharohar, MISHTI and Mission Sahbhagita [1].

4. Core Static Facts

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Environmental

• Wetlands store fresh water, recharge groundwater, buffer floods and sustain fisheries and farming. They are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth [1].
• Many new sites are bird sanctuaries. Shekha Jheel is a key stopover on the Central Asian Flyway [3].
• Glaw Lake lies inside the Kamlang Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, which links wetland and tiger-landscape conservation [5].

Legal / Governance

• The 2017 Rules sit under the EPA, 1986 [12]. They decentralise regulation to State Wetlands Authorities [13].
• MoEFCC still decides exemptions alone [15]. This creates tension between state agency and central control.
• A Ramsar listing is an international commitment. Domestic protection depends on notification under the 2017 Rules [12][14].

Administrative / Federal

• Designation is state-initiated [1] and NPCA is cost-shared [16], so results depend on state capacity and the quality of management plans [14].
• Sites are spread unevenly. UP alone had 12 by April 2026 [3], and Arunachal got its first only in Aug 2026 [5]. Expansion depends on how proactive each state is.

Social / Economic

• Wetlands sustain livelihoods [1]. Amrit Dharohar aims at eco-tourism and local income [13].
• Mission Sahbhagita shifts conservation toward community ownership [17].

Geopolitical / Multilateral

• Ramsar is the main intergovernmental forum on wetlands [1].
• India's COP15 resolution was backed by 172 Parties and 6 International Organisation Partners [1]. It projects LiFE-style sustainable-lifestyle ideas into wetland governance [1][11].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 23–31 Jul 2025: at Ramsar COP15 (Victoria Falls; theme "Protecting wetlands for our common future"), India's revised draft (Doc.23.20 Rev.1) on sustainable lifestyles was adopted by acclamation [10][11].
• 31 Jan 2026: Patna Bird Sanctuary (Etah, UP) and Chhari-Dhand (Kutch, Gujarat) added [2].
• Apr 2026: Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary (Aligarh, UP) becomes the 99th site. UP's tally reaches 12 [3].
• Jun 2026: Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal), Ballia, UP becomes the 100th site. The Prime Minister welcomed it [4].
• Aug 2026: Glaw Lake becomes the 101st site and Arunachal Pradesh's first [5].
• 25 Oct 2026: total reaches 103 sites / 13.87+ lakh ha [1]. The 102nd and 103rd sites are not identified in my sources.

7. Prelims Hooks

• Ramsar Convention adopted 2 Feb 1971 at Ramsar, Iran. In force 1975 [1].
• India joined on 1 Feb 1982 [1].
• India has 103 sites (Oct 2026), up from 26 in 2014 [1].
• India ranks 1st in Asia, 3rd globally by number of sites [1].
• Ramsar sites cover 13.87+ lakh ha across 28 States/UTs [1].
• Ramsar wetland definition includes marine water up to 6 m deep at low tide [1].
• 9 criteria. Meeting any one qualifies a site [1].
• Criterion 5: regularly supports ≥ 20,000 waterbirds [1].
• Criterion 9: 1% of a population of a non-avian wetland-dependent animal [1].
• 100th Ramsar site: Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal), Ballia, UP [4].
• Glaw Lake: Arunachal's first Ramsar site, inside Kamlang Tiger Reserve [5].
• Chhari-Dhand is in Kutch, Gujarat. Patna Bird Sanctuary is in Etah, UP (not Bihar) [2].
• Wetlands (C&M) Rules, 2017 are framed under EPA, 1986 [12].
• Ramsar COP15: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, July 2025 [10].
• NPCA is a Centrally Sponsored, cost-shared scheme [16].

8. Why 103 Sites Does Not Mean 103 Protected Wetlands

• A Ramsar listing is a promise, not a protection order
• A site gets listed because it is valuable: it meets any one of the 9 criteria [1]. The criteria measure what the wetland is today. They do not check whether anyone is managing it.
• In India, the legal protection comes from notification under the Wetlands (C&M) Rules, 2017 [12][14]. Listing and legal notification are two separate steps.

• So the count of 103 tells us how many wetlands India has declared important. It does not tell us how many are healthy.

• Some Indian sites have been on the 'danger list' for decades

• The Montreux Record is Ramsar's list of sites whose ecological character (the natural balance of water, plants and animals that makes the wetland what it is) has changed, is changing or is likely to change for the worse [22].
• Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) was put on it in 1990 because of water shortage and an unbalanced grazing regime [22][24].
• Loktak Lake (Manipur) was put on it in 1993 because of forest loss in its catchment (the land that drains into the lake), water hyacinth and pollution [22][23].

• A 2023 Ramsar status paper still lists Loktak, with the same three problems [24]. More than 30 years of listing has not removed the causes.

• The 'firsts' story can hide the health story

• News coverage celebrates new entries: the 100th site [4], a state's first site [5].
• No similar announcement is made when an existing site gets worse. That is why the Montreux Record is the better test of real protection.

9. What the Auditors Found Inside the Wetlands

• One department drained the wetland another department was protecting
• In its performance audit of Gujarat's wetlands of national importance, CAG found that the water level at Wadhwana Lake was not kept at the required level [19].
• The reason: the Irrigation Department released the water for farming [19].

• The forest/environment side manages the birds. The irrigation side controls the water. Neither is in charge of the whole wetland.

• Rules on paper, poaching on the ground

• The same audit found that poaching at Nal Sarovar and Wadhwana was not controlled [19].

• Management action plans were late or incomplete, and monitoring was weak at both the Department and the Steering Committee level [19].

• You cannot protect birds you have never counted

• Many Indian sites qualify through bird numbers: Criterion 5 (≥ 20,000 waterbirds) or Criterion 6 (1% of a waterbird population) [1].
• CAG's Meghalaya audit found no baseline data on migratory birds [20]. A baseline is the first count you make, so later counts can be compared with it.

• Without it, the state cannot tell whether a wetland is losing the very value it was listed for.

• The state did not put money in its own budget

• The Meghalaya audit also found no funds provided in the State budget for the planned wetland work [20].
• NPCA is cost-shared [16]. If the state does not pay its share, the central share alone cannot carry the plan.

10. The Money Behind the Map

• The money is small compared with the size of the network
• PIB reports ₹70.87 crore released under NPCA for wetland conservation and management since 2023-24 [21].
• That money covers all NPCA wetlands, not only Ramsar sites. Even if all of it went to the ~100 Ramsar sites, that is less than ₹1 crore per site over about three years [21].

• The network covers 13.87+ lakh ha [1]. Removing weeds, cleaning silt, treating sewage and restoring catchments across that area costs far more.

• Cost-sharing favours richer and more active states

• NPCA is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (a scheme the Centre designs and part-funds, and the states run and co-fund) [16].
• Central money is tied to an Integrated Management Plan (a site-wise plan covering water, land use, people and wildlife together) [14].

• A state with weak staff cannot write a good plan. Then it gets less central money, and the gap between states grows. The note already shows the uneven spread: UP has 12 sites [3], while Arunachal got its first only in 2026 [5].

• The global bill for doing nothing is large

• The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 says about 411 million ha (around 22%) of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1970. The loss continues at 0.52% a year [25].
• About 25% of the wetlands that remain are in poor condition, and that share is rising in every region [25].
• Ramsar warns that up to 20% of the remaining wetlands could vanish by 2050, putting about US$39 trillion in benefits at risk [26].

11. The Case For the Numbers Race — and Where It Stops

• The strongest argument for fast designation
• Listing brings outside eyes. Once a site is on the Ramsar list, its decline can be put on the Montreux Record and reported in front of 172 Parties [1][22]. An unlisted wetland has no such alarm.
• Listing also pushes states to prepare management plans, because NPCA money is tied to them [14].

• Keoladeo shows the system can work. Ramsar's 2023 status paper says its ecological character has improved, and India is assessing its removal from the Montreux Record [24].

• What is right about this argument

• Designation is a needed first step. Without it, wetlands like Shekha Jheel on the Central Asian Flyway would get no international attention at all [3].

• Where it stops working

• Loktak shows the opposite result: listed in 1993, still listed in 2023 for the same causes [22][24]. International attention alone did not fix catchment forest loss or pollution.

• The CAG findings show that the damage often comes from inside government, such as irrigation releases [19]. A Ramsar listing does not change who controls the water.

• Fair conclusion for an answer: designation is necessary, but the real test is how many sites leave the Montreux Record and how many never enter it.

12. Who Should Do What Next

• State Wetlands Authorities: get a written water allocation for each site
• Wadhwana lost water because irrigation releases came first [19].

• Each management plan should fix a minimum water level that the Irrigation Department has signed off on. That way the wetland's water is not an afterthought.

• State Wetlands Authorities: count first, then nominate

• Meghalaya had no baseline bird data [20].

• Every nomination under Criteria 5, 6 or 9 [1] should come with a dated baseline count and a schedule for repeat counts. This lets a site's decline be spotted early.

• MoEFCC: report site health, not only site numbers

• Alongside each new-site press release, MoEFCC should publish which sites are on the Montreux Record and what has been done about them [22][24].

• Keoladeo's possible removal [24] would be a stronger headline than a new entry, because it proves recovery.

• MoEFCC: make Loktak the test case

• Its three listed problems (catchment forest loss, water hyacinth, pollution) have been the same since 1993 [22][24].

• A time-bound recovery plan for Loktak, funded through NPCA [16], would show whether the 2017 Rules can deliver on the ground.

• States: put their share of NPCA in the budget before asking for central money

• CAG found Meghalaya had made no State budget provision [20]. Without the state share, a cost-shared scheme stalls [16].

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: ~22% of global wetlands (411 million ha) lost since 1970; 0.52% annual decline; 25% of the rest in poor condition — Global Wetland Outlook 2025 [25]
• Data: ₹70.87 crore released under NPCA since 2023-24 [21]
• Data: Up to 20% of remaining wetlands could vanish by 2050, risking US$39 trillion in benefits [26]
• Report/Committee: CAG Performance Audit, Gujarat Forests & Environment Department (2015) — Wadhwana water diverted for irrigation, poaching at Nal Sarovar uncontrolled, plans late [19]; CAG Meghalaya audit — no migratory-bird baseline, no State budget provision [20]
• Law/Case: Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 [12]; only MoEFCC can permit prohibited activities [15]
• Comparison: Montreux Record — Keoladeo (listed 1990) now improving and being assessed for removal, against Loktak (listed 1993) still listed for the same causes [22][24]
• Scheme: NPCA — Centrally Sponsored, cost-shared, money tied to Integrated Management Plans; this is why state capacity decides outcomes [14][16]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, EIA. Also disaster management (flood buffering).
• GS-II: Important international institutions and agreements; Centre–State relations (cost-shared CSS, State Wetlands Authorities).
• GS-I: Geography, i.e. the distribution of key natural resources (water bodies).
• Question stems: 1. India's Ramsar network has expanded nearly fourfold since 2014. Does the number of designations reflect real ecological protection? Critically examine. (GS-III, 15 marks) 2. Discuss how the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 balance decentralised governance with central oversight. Suggest reforms. (GS-III) 3. Wetlands are nature's kidneys and climate buffers. Evaluate the role of participatory approaches such as Mission Sahbhagita in wetland conservation. (GS-III)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Montreux Record: the Ramsar register of sites under threat, a common Prelims pair.
• Central Asian Flyway / CMS (Bonn Convention): many Indian Ramsar sites are migratory stopovers [3].
• MISHTI and mangrove conservation: coastal wetland scheme listed by PIB [1].
• National Wetland Decadal Change Atlas (ISRO/SAC): remote-sensing base for wetland inventories.
• Eco-Sensitive Zones and Protected Areas under the WPA, 1972: overlapping protection regimes (e.g. Kamlang TR [5]).
• Namami Gange and river-floodplain wetlands: how wetlands and river rejuvenation link up.
• Mission LiFE: the conceptual parent of India's COP15 resolution [1].
• CBD / Kunming-Montreal GBF "30x30": where wetland designations count toward global targets.

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Ramsar Convention (Geography): The whole note is about this treaty: what it is, its criteria, and how India's sites are designated.
• Wetland (Geography): You need the basic meaning and types of wetlands to understand what gets listed and why they matter.
• Montreux Record (Geography): Shows which listed sites are in trouble; the note uses it to test real protection beyond the count.
• Environment Protection Act 1986 (Geography): The Wetlands Rules, 2017 are made under this Act, which gives domestic legal protection to sites.
• Centre-state relations (Polity): Sites are state-proposed and NPCA is cost-shared, so Centre-state roles decide how well wetlands are managed.
• Loktak Lake (Geography): The note's main example of a site on the danger list for decades without recovery.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Dates: adopted 1971, in force 1975, India joined 1982. World Wetlands Day (2 Feb) marks the adoption date, not the entry into force [1].
• Not a UN treaty body: Ramsar is a standalone intergovernmental treaty [1]. Don't confuse it with UNEP-administered conventions.
• Legal base: the Wetlands Rules come under EPA, 1986, not the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 [12]. The 2017 Rules replaced earlier rules.
• Who initiates: the State/UT proposes and MoEFCC forwards. The Ramsar Secretariat designates [1].
• Name traps: "Patna Bird Sanctuary" is in Etah, UP, not Patna, Bihar [2]. Surha Tal = JP Narayan Bird Sanctuary [4].
• Amrit Dharohar date: PIB links it to Budget 2023-24 [18]. One backgrounder [13] was summarised with a different date, so use the Budget 2023-24 reference.