RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India

RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India

Table of Contents

What is the RAMSAR Wetland Site?

The Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated for international importance by the Ramsar convention.

Introduction of Ramsar Convention:

Ramsar Convention (established in 1971 by UNESCO, and came into force in 1975) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands that recognizes the fundamental ecological functions and economic, cultural, recreational, and scientific values of these sites.

The name Ramsar was given after the name of the city Ramsar in Iran, the treaty signed there in 1971.
Every year 2nd February is celebrated as world wetland Day, which was celebrated for the first time in 1997.
There are currently over 2,400 Ramsar Sites around the world. They cover over 2.5 million square kilometers
The number of sites in the United Kingdom i.e. 175 and Mexico is 142.
The world’s first Ramsar Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.

The largest Sites are Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 square kilometers), Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada; these Sites each cover over 60,000 square km. Others are as small as one hectare.

What is Wetland?

Wetland is a distinct ecosystem flooded by water permanently or seasonally. These include flooded forests, floodplains, marshes, rivers and lakes, coral reefs, etc. The hydrophytes, hydric soil, and water-saturated land are the main characteristics of this land.

Importance of Wetland

Wetland plays an important role in the ecosystem, they improve natural water quality, protects from flood, and controls shoreline erosion. It helps in recreation and aesthetic appreciation and natural products without any cost.

World’s first wetland site

The world’s first site was the Coburg Peninsula in Australia, in 1974.

latest updates about Indian Ramsar sites

50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on 2nd February 2021, this day is also celebrated as World Wetland Day. India established the Centre for Wetland Conservation & Management under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in Chennai at National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).

One of the Ramsar sites in India Sambhar Lake is in the news because of the deterioration of salt mining.
Four new Wetland sites in India are added to the list.
Five new Ramsar wetland sites were added to the list in July 2022.
21 new Ramsar sites were added in August.
Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of Ramsar sites which is 14 followed by Uttar Pradesh having 10.

Save Wetland Campaign’

Recently Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the “Save Wetland Campaign” on February 4, 2023. Two publications were also released during the occasion:

‘India’s 75 Amrit Dharohar-India’s Ramsar Sites Facebook’ and ‘ Managing Climate Risks in Wetlands – A Practitioner’s Guide’.
Mission Sahbhagita: Launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 2022. ‘Mission Sahbhagita’ aims to effectively manage the network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance.

first Ramsar site in India:

The Chilka Lake in Orissa and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan are recognized as the first Ramsar site in India.

The smallest and largest wetland in India:

Sunderbans is the largest and Renuka wetland in Himachal Pradesh is the smallest Ramsar wetland in India.

RAMSAR -Wetland Sites in India

List of 75 Ramsar Wetland Sites in India

The 75 Ramsar wetland sites are listed in the table below:

Sl.No.	Name of Site	State Location	Date of Declaration	*Area(in sq. km.)*
1	Asan Conservation Reserve	Uttarakhand	21.7.2020	4.444
2	Asthamudi Wetland	Kerala	19.8.2002	614
3	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab	26.9.2019	64.289
4	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Orissa	19.8.2002	650
5	Bhoj Wetlands	Madhya Pradesh	19.8.2002	32.01
6	Chandertal Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	8.11.2005	0.49
7	Chilka Lake	Orissa	1.10.1981	1165
8	Deepor Beel	Assam	19.8.2002	40
9	East Kolkata Wetlands	West Bengal	19.8.2002	125
10	Harike Lake	Punjab	23.3.1990	41
11	Hokera Wetland	Jammu and Kashmir	8.11.2005	13.75
12	Kabartal Wetland	Bihar In Begusarai district	21.07.2020	26.20
13	Kanjli Lake	Punjab	22.1.2002	1.83
14	Keoladeo Ghana NP	Rajasthan	1.10.1981	28.73
15	Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve	Punjab	26.9.2019	3.439
16	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	19.8.2002	901
17	Loktak Lake	Manipur	23.3.1990	266
18	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra	22.7.2020	4.27
19	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat	24.09.2012	120
20	Nandur Madhameshwar	Maharashtra	21.6.2019	14.37
21	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab	26.9.2019	1.16
22	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh Unnao district	19.9.2019	2.246
23	Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh situated in the Gonda District	2.12.2019	7.22
24	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	19.8.2002	385
25	Pong Dam Lake Also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar on Beas river	Himachal Pradesh	19.8.2002	156.62
26	Renuka Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	8.11.2005	0.2
27	Ropar Lake	Punjab	22.1.2002	13.65
28	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura	8.11.2005	2.4
29	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh Mainpuri district, in western Uttar Pradesh.	2.12.2019	52.63
30	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh situated near Salon in Raebareli district	3.10.2019	79.94
31	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan	23.3.1990	240
32	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh	26.9.2019	30.85
33	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Uttar Pradesh Etawah district	19.9.2019	16.13
34	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala	19.8.2002	3.73
35	Sunderbans Wetland	West Bengal	30.1.2019	4230
36	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Jammu and Kashmir	8.11.2005	3.5
37	Sur Sarovar also known as Keetham Lake	Uttar Pradesh In Agra district	21.8.2020	4.31
38	Tso Kar Wetland Complex	Ladakh	17.11.2020	95.77
39	Tsomoriri Lake	Jammu and Kashmir	19.8.2002	120
40	Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch)	Uttar Pradesh	8.11.2005	265.9
41	Vembanad Kol Wetland	Kerala	19.8.2002	1512.5
42.	Wular Lake	Jammu & Kashmir	23.3.1990	189
43.	Wadhvana wetland	Gujarat. It is located in Dabhoi Tehsil (Taluka), Vadodara	06-08-2021	630 ha
44.	The Thol Lake wildlife sanctuary	Mehsana district of Gujarat state	06-08-2021	699 ha
45.	Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary is a human-made freshwater wetland and is the largest wetland in Haryana State	Haryana State	06-08-2021	412 ha
46.	Sultanpur National Park	Gurugram, Haryana	06-08-2021	142.5 ha
47.	Haiderpur Wetland	Uttar Pradesh	8-12-2021	69.08 sqkm
48.	Khijadia Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat
49.	Bakhira Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
50.	Karaikal Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	July 2022
51.	Pallikaranai Marsh	Tamil Nadu	July 2022
52.	Pichavaram Mangrove	Tamil Nadu	July 2022
53.	Pala or Palak Wetland	Mizoram	July 2022
54	Sakhya Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	July 2022
55.	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary Man-made wetland	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	72.04 ha
56.	Satkosia Gorge The gorge Satk0sia is over Mahanadi in Odisha. It is the meeting point of two biogeographic regions of India; the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, contributing to immense biodiversity	Odisha	August 2022	98196.
57	Nanda Lake The majority of the area is intermittent freshwater marshes that lie adjacent to one of the major rivulets of the Zauri River	Goa	August 2022	42.01
58	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve It is the first Marine Biosphere reserve in South East Asia	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	53671.88
59	Ranganathituu Bird Sanctuary This site has been listed as one of the important bird Areas (IBA) in Karnataka and India by the Bombay Natural History society.	Karnataka Mandya district	August 2022	517.70
60	Vembannur Wetland Complex It is a human-made inland tank. This wetland forms part of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) and hence part of BirdLife International Data Zone	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	19.75
61.	Vellode bird Sanctuary Also known as Periyakulam Yeri	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	77.19
62.	Sirpur wetland	Madhya Pradesh	August 2022	161
63.	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	40.35
64.	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	43.77
11 more wetlands are added to the list of Ramsar sites in India Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1851484
65.	Tampara Lake It is a freshwater lake in the Ganjam district of Odisha.	Odisha	August 2022	300
66.	Hirakud Reservoir It is the largest earthen dam in Odisha.	Odisha	August 2022	65400
67.	Ansupa Lake The largest freshwater lake in Odisha. It is an oxbow lake formed by the river Mahanadi.	Odisha	August 2022	231
68.	Yashwant Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	August 2022	822.90
69.	Chitrangudi Bird sanctuary Also called ‘Chitrangudi Kanmoli’	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	260.47
70.	Suchindram Theroor Wetland complex	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	94.23
71.	Vadavur Bird sactuary	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	112.64
72.	Aknjirankulam Bird sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	August 2022	96.89
73.	Thane creek	Maharashtra	August 2022	6521.08
74.	Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve Hygam Wetland falls within the River Jhelum basin	Jammu and Kashmir	August 2022	801.82
75.	Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir	August 2022	1675

Click here to read 10 new Ramsar site

Ten New RAMSAR Sites of India

RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India

Five New Ramsar Sites in India

References – http://moef.gov.in/en/

https://www.ramsar.org/sites-countries/ramsar-sites-around-the-world

(Source: Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India)

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Ten New RAMSAR Sites of India

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