BharatNotes What is the Ramsar Convention?
The Ramsar Convention (officially the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and sustainable, or "wise use", of wetlands. It was adopted on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and entered into force on 21 December 1975. It is the oldest of the modern multilateral environmental agreements and the only one dedicated to a single ecosystem type.
The convention's anniversary date, 2 February, is observed worldwide as World Wetlands Day. The treaty's secretariat is hosted by IUCN in Gland, Switzerland.
Key features
- Wise use principle — Parties commit to the "wise use" of all wetlands within their territory, defined as maintaining their ecological character through sustainable management.
- Ramsar Sites — Each Party designates at least one wetland as a Wetland of International Importance for the List of Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar List).
- Montreux Record — A register of listed sites where the ecological character has changed, is changing, or is likely to change due to pollution, technological development or human interference. Listing is voluntary and signals priority conservation attention.
- International cooperation — Parties cooperate on transboundary wetlands and shared species through the triennial Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP).
As of 2025, the convention had approximately 172 Contracting Parties and over 2,500 designated Ramsar Sites globally, covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres.
India and the Ramsar Convention
India became a Contracting Party in 1982. Its first two Ramsar Sites — Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Rajasthan) — were designated in 1981.
| Aspect | Detail (as verified, 2025-26) |
|---|---|
| India's total Ramsar Sites | 100 (as of June 2026; Shekha Jheel, UP was the 99th in April 2026) |
| First Ramsar Sites | Chilika Lake & Keoladeo Ghana NP (1981) |
| Largest site | Sundarban Wetland, West Bengal (~4,230 sq km) |
| State with most sites | Tamil Nadu |
| Indian sites on Montreux Record | Keoladeo NP (Rajasthan) & Loktak Lake (Manipur) |
| Domestic legal framework | Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 |
Keoladeo is on the Montreux Record largely due to water-supply problems, while Loktak Lake entered it because of hydrological alteration linked to the Ithai barrage. India's total number of Ramsar Sites has risen rapidly in recent years and stood at the high-90s by late 2025; aspirants should confirm the exact current count from MoEFCC/Ramsar before the exam, as it is frequently updated.
Significance and UPSC angle
Wetlands deliver outsized ecosystem services — flood buffering, groundwater recharge, carbon storage and biodiversity support — making the convention a touchstone for India's climate-resilience and conservation policy. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, operationalise wetland protection domestically through State Wetland Authorities, banning reclamation and waste dumping in notified wetlands.
For the exam, this is a foundational, recurring topic. Prelims tests factual recall (first/largest sites, Montreux Record entries, the treaty year), while Mains GS3 frames it within biodiversity conservation, ecosystem-service economics and India's international environmental commitments. Do not confuse Ramsar (wetlands) with CITES (trade in species) or the CMS/Bonn Convention (migratory species).
