Ramsar Sites in India - List of Ramsar Sites [UPSC Environment & Ecology Notes]

Ramsar Sites are the wetlands that have international importance. The term was coined when the International Treaty for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands was signed at a city of Iran called Ramsar in 1971. The topic, ‘Ramsar Sites of India’ is important for the upcoming IAS Exam as recently Sambhar Lake had been in the news for its deterioration over salt mining. Sambhar Lake is a Ramsar Site in India.  Hence, candidates should read about Ramsar Sites and the Ramsar Convention for UPSC preparation. Read on to get the relevant facts about Ramsar Sites and the list of Ramsar Sites.

Ramsar Sites in India – Latest Addition

In December 2020, the Tso Kar Wetland Complex was added to the list of Ramsar sites in India. This includes the high-altitude wetland complex of two connected lakes, Startsapuk Tso and Tso Kar, in Ladakh.

The following sites have been added as the recognized Ramsar Sites in India:

1. Maharashtra – Lonar Lake
2. Agra (Uttar Pradesh) – Sur Sarovar also called, Keetham Lake
3. Uttarakhand – Asan Barrage
4. Bihar – Kanwar Lake or Kabal Taal

Facts about Ramsar Sites & Indian Wetlands

The table below provides relevant facts in brief for the use in UPSC Exam:

Other Interesting Facts about the Ramsar sites:

1. Ramsar sites are one of the major protected areas in the world.
2. There are currently over 2400 Ramsar sites in the world covering an area of 2.5 million sq. kilometres.
3. World’s First Ramsar site was identified in 1974, which was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia.
4. The United Kingdom has the world’s largest number of Ramsar sites i.e 175.
5. February 2 is celebrated as International Wetlands Day as the Ramsar Convention was signed on February 2, 1971.
6. The Ramsar Convention works with the collaboration of the following organizations:
   1. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
   2. Birdlife International.
   3. International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
   4. Wetlands International.
   5. Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
   6. WWF International
7. To research any of the Ramsar sites, one can check the Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS)
8. The number of contracting parties for the Ramsar Convention as of October 2019 is 171.

List of Ramsar Sites in India:- Download PDF Here

List of Ramsar Sites in India

The Ramsar Convention was signed in 1971 with the aim of “conservation and wise use of wetlands with local, national and international cooperation for overall sustainable development of the world”.

The Ramsar sites are maintained in Montreux Record to track any major ecological changes that might affect any of the wetland sites positively or in a reverse way.

The Ramsar convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982. The 14 new Ramsar sites of India announced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) includes:

• Sur Sarovar, Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar (Uttar Pradesh)
• Lonar Lake, Nandur Madhameshwar (Maharashtra)
• Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal (Punjab)
• Asan Barrage (Uttarakhand)
• Kanwar Lake (Bihar)

The Sunderban Reserve Forest (Sunderban Wetlands) also made its entry into the list of Ramsar sites in India on 1st February 2020.

The latest site to be added to the list is a high-altitude wetland complex of two connected lakes, Startsapuk Tso and Tso Kar, in Ladakh.
India currently has 42 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). This is the highest in South Asia.

Indian Wetlands and Ramsar Sites are important topics covered in Environment & Ecology in UPSC Syllabus. Candidates can get Environment Questions for UPSC Mains GS 3 in the linked article. This can help candidates to practice all previous years’ questions related to Biodiversity, Environment, and Ecology.

List of Ramsar sites in India [Latest]

List of Ramsar Sites in India:- Download PDF Here

Aspirants preparing for UPSC 2021, should refer to the topics similar to the ‘Ramsar Wetlands in India List’ in the table below:

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