Protection of Indian Wetlands: Ramsar Sites in India

In the year 1971, the International Treaty for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran. Since then, the convention has been more commonly called the Ramsar Convention, and the sites protected under it are called Ramsar Sites. There are a total of 75 Ramsar Sites in India, that have been added over the years.

But, what is the importance of these Ramsar Sites?

The Ramsar Sites are important wetlands that need conservation and protection from the Government. They are of national importance and provide for national and international cooperation regarding its conservation and sustainable use.

What are the criterias to declare a Ramsar Site?

It must be a “ rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type.”
It should support “vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.”
It should support “populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region”
It should support “plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provide refuge during adverse conditions.”
It should regularly support “20,000 or more waterbirds.”
It should regularly support “1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.”
It should support ” a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.”
It should be “an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.”
It should regularly support “1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.”

So, which are the 75 Ramsar Sites in India?

There are a total of 75 Ramsar Sites in India. This number of 75 Ramsar Sites was achieved in the 75th Year of Independence.

PM Shri @narendramodi ji’s love and care for environment is helping India scale newer heights in conservation.

Elated to inform that 11 more Indian wetlands have got Ramsar recognition. This takes our tally to 75 sites.#AmritMahotsav #IndiaAt75 pic.twitter.com/jsYGTBGOQo

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) August 13, 2022

On 13th August 2022, 11 more wetlands were added to the existing list taking the total number to 75 sites. The year 2022 alone had seen an addition of 28 sites and 14 for 2021.

The maximum sites are in Tamil Nadu- 14 and 10 in Uttar Pradesh.

So, here are the 75 Ramsar Sites in India-

S.No	Ramsar Sites in India	State	Area in Km square
1	Tampara Lake	Odisha	3
2	Hirakud Reservoir	Odisha	654
3	Ansupa Lake	Odisha	2.31
4	Yashwant Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	8.229
5	Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	2.6047
6	Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu	0.9423
7	Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	1.1264
8	Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.9689
9	Thane Creek	Maharashtra	65.2108
10	Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir	8.0182
11	Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir	16.75
12	Nanda Lake	Goa	0.42
13	Karikili Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.58
14	Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest	Tamil Nadu	12.48
15	Pichavaram Mangrove Forest	Tamil Nadu	14.79
16	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu	527
17	Vembannur Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu	0.20
18	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.77
19	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.44
20	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.40
21	Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary	Karnataka	5.18
22	Sakhya Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	2.48
23	Sirpur Wetland	Madhya Pradesh	1.61
24	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	0.72
25	Satkosia Gorge	Odisha	982
26	Pala Wetland	Mizoram	18.50
27	Bakhira Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	28.94
28	Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary	Haryana	4.11
29	Sultanpur National Park	Haryana	1.43
30	Haiderpur Wetland	Uttar Pradesh	69.08
31	Wadhvana Wetland	Gujarat	6.30
32	Thol Lake	Gujarat	6.99
33	Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary	Gujarat	5.12
34	Tso Kar Wetland Complex	Union Territory of Ladakh	95.77
35	Sur Sarovar	Uttar Pradesh	4.31
36	Asan Conservation Reserve	Uttarakhand	4.44
37	Kabartal Wetland	Bihar	26.20
38	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra	4.27
39	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	52.63
40	Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	7.22
41	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	79.94
42	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab	64.289
43	Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve	Punjab	3.439
44	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab	1.16
45	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	2.246
46	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	30.85
47	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Uttar Pradesh	16.13
48	Nandur Madhameshwar	Maharashtra	14.37
49	Sundarban Wetland	West Bengal	4230
50	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat	120
51	Upper Ganga River	Uttar Pradesh	265.9
52	Chandertal Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	0.49
53	Hokera Wetland	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir	13.75
54	Renuka Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	0.2
55	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura	2.4
56	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir	3.5
57	Ashtamudi Wetland	Kerala	614
58	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Odisha	650
59	Bhoj Wetland	Madhya Pradesh	32.01
60	Deepor Beel	Assam	40
61	East Calcutta Wetlands	West Bengal	125
62	Kanjli Wetland	Punjab	1.83
63	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	901
64	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	385
65	Pong Dam Lake	Himachal Pradesh	156.62
66	Ropar Wetland	Punjab	13.65
67	Tsomoriri	Union Territory of Ladakh	120
68	Vembanad-Kol Wetland	Kerala	1512.5
69	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala	3.73
70	Wular Lake	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir	189
71	Harike Wetland	Punjab	41
72	Loktak Lake	Manipur	266
73	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan	240
74	Chilika Lake	Odisha	1165
75	Keoladeo National Park	Rajasthan	28.73