Ramsar sites in India total 2022 (Now 64)

Here is the updated list of Ramsar sites in India. There are currently 64 Ramsar sites in India.

About Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

▸ The Convention on Wetlands provides the framework for international cooperation and national action for the conservation and wise use of wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.
More than 255,792,244 hectares of wetland have been protected through this convention.

▸ February 2 is celebrated as the International Wetlands Day

❖ What is the theme of World Wetland Day 2022?

☞ Wetlands Action for People and Nature is the theme in 2022 highlighting the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for humans and planetary health.

Why it’s called “Ramsar”

▸ As because the Convention on Wetlands was named after the Iranian city “Ramsar” which was adopted in the year 1971.

What are the three pillars of the Convention

▸ Under the three pillars of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to_
❖ work towards the wise use of all their wetlands through national plans, policies and legislation, management actions, and public education.

❖ Designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management.

❖ Cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems, shared species, and development projects that may affect wetlands.

What actually means by “Wise use of wetlands”?

▸ The Convention defines the wise use of wetlands as “the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development”. Wise use can thus be seen as the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and all the services they provide, for the benefit of people and nature.

What are Wetlands?

▸ A wetland is a place where the land is covered by water, either salt, fresh, or somewhere in between.

▸ List of places which is considered wetland under the Ramsar Convention.
• All lakes
• Rivers
• Underground aquifers
• Swamps and Marshes
• Wet grasslands
• Peatlands
• Oases
• Estuaries
• Deltas and tidal flats
• Mangroves and other coastal areas
• Coral reefs
• All human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans

Major Significance of Wetlands

▸ Wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services that benefit humanity, including_
• Water filtration
• Storm protection
• Flood control

▸ People use wetlands in many other ways, including_
• Fishing
• Transportation of Goods and Passengers
• Irrigation purpose
• For Industrial use
• Cultivation of Paddy, Lotus,
• To decompose jute (for extracting jute fiber)

▸ Wetland helps to grow various agricultural products, such as_
• Paddy (which is a major food for half the world’s population.)
• Flower of commercial importance like Lotus, and water lilies.
• Aquatic vegetables like a water chestnut.

▸ Most of the wetlands act as the most productive habitats on the planet. Which often support high concentrations of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates, and serve as nurseries for many of these species.

Ramsar sites in India, Current Status

Number of Ramsar Wetland Sites in India

● At present India has 64  Wetlands, recognized under the Ramsar convention, with a surface area of 12,50,361 hectares.
● Previously India has 27 wetlands.
● On January 28, 2020, Ramsar Convention has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of national importance. (27 +10 = 37)

● From July-November 2020, 5 more wetlands were added under the Ramsar Convention. (37 + 5 = 42)

●  Recently, four more sites from India have been recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands bringing the total number of such designated areas in the country to 46, (42+4 = 46)

• On December 9, 2021, one more site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was added to the list.  47 (46+1).

• On 2 February 2022, India adds two more Ramsar sites upscaling the number from 47 to 49.

• On 26 July 2022, India added 5 more Ramsar sites to its existing list.

• On 3 August 2022, India added 10 more Ramsar sites to its existing list.

• Now the total number of Ramsar sites in India is 64.

 Recently added (last 10) Wetland under The Ramsar Convention

1️⃣ Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
2️⃣ Satkosia Gorge (Odisha)
3️⃣ Nanda Lake (Goa)
4️⃣ Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve(Tamil Nadu)
5️⃣ Ranganathituu Bird Sanctuary (Karnataka)
6️⃣ Vembannur Wetland Complex (Tamil Nadu)
7️⃣ Vellode Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
8️⃣ Sirpur wetland (Madhya Pradesh)
9️⃣ Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
🔟 Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)

Important info about the newly added wetlands

• Nanda Lake is the first wetland of Goa.
• Also, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is the first Ramsar wetland site in Karnataka.

• Sakhya Sagar Lake is an integral part of the Madhav National Park in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh.

• The Pala wetland is the largest natural wetland in Mizoram.
• Pala wetland is Mizoram’s first wetland under the Ramsar convention.

• Asan Barrage is the first wetland from Uttarakhand.

• Sur Sarovar is also known as Khetam Lake
• Sur Sarovar is a Huaman-made reservoir.
• Lonar Lake was formed by a meteorite impact onto the basalt bedrock.
• The name Tso Kar refers to the white salt.
• Tso Kar is one of the most important breeding areas in India for the black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis).

• The Haiderpur wetland is located near the Bijnor Ganga Barrage within the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, India.

● The Bakhira Bird Sanctuary (48th Ramsar site) is the largest natural flood plain wetland of India in the Sant Kabir Nagar district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

● About 300 species of migratory birds have been recorded in the Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary. (49th Ramsar sites)

Ramsar sites around the world, Important Info

♦ The world’s first Site under the Ramsar convention was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.

♦ The largest Sites under the Ramsar convention are_
• Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 square km)

• Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo (60,000 square km)
• Queen Maud Gulf in Canada (60,000 square km)

♦ The countries with the most Sites are the…
• the United Kingdom with 175 sites and
• Mexico with 142 sites.

♦ Largest area under the Convention…
• Bolivia (total  148,000 square km)

♦ At present there are over 2,455 Ramsar Sites across the world, covering more than  255,792,244 hectares of surface area.

State-wise list of Ramsar sites in India (Total 64)

Sl.No	Ramsar Site	State
1	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh
2	Sur Sarovar	Agra, Uttar Pradesh
3	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Etawah, Uttar Pradesh
4	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Nawabganj, Uttar Pradesh
5	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Raebareli‎, Uttar Pradesh
6	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh
7	Parvati Aranga Bird Sanctuary	Gonda, Uttar Pradesh
8	Upper Ganga River	Brijghat to Narora Stretch, Uttar Pradesh
9	Haiderpur Wetland	Muzaffarnagar-Bijnor border, Uttar Pradesh
10	Bakhira Bird Sanctuary	Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh
11	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala
12	Ashtamudi Lake	Kerala
13	Vembanad-Kol Wetland	Kerala
14	Bhoj Wetland	Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
15	Sakhya Sagar Lake	Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
16	Sirpur wetland	Indore, Madhya Pradesh
17	Nandur Madhameshwar	Nashik, Maharashtra
18	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra
19	Keoladeo National Park	Rajasthan
20	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan
21	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
22	Karikili Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
23	Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest	Tamil Nadu
24	Pichavaram Mangrove	Tamil Nadu
25	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu
26	Vembannur Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu
27	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	Vadamugam Vellode, Tamil Nadu
28	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu
29	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary	Koonthakulam, Tamil Nadu
30	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	Vedathangal, Madurantakam ,Tamil Nadu
31	Pala wetland	Mizoram
32	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh
33	Tsomoriri	Ladakh
34	Tso Kar	Ladakh
35	Hokera Wetland	Jammu & Kashmir
36	Wular Lake	Jammu & Kashmir
37	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Jammu & Kashmir
38	Chilka Lake	Odisha
39	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Odisha
40	Satkosia Gorge	Odisha
41	East Kolkata Wetlands	West Bengal
42	Sundarban Wetland	West Bengal
43	Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve	Punjab
44	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab
45	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab
46	Harike Wetland	Punjab
47	Kanjli Wetland	Punjab
48	Ropar Wetland	Punjab
49	Deepar Beel	Kamrup, Assam
50	Loktak Lake	Moirang, Manipur
51	Rudrasagar Lake	Melaghar, Tripura
52	Pong Dam Lake	Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
53	Chandra Lake	Lahul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
54	Renuka Lake	Sirmaur , Himachal Pradesh
55	Asan Barrage	Dehradun, Uttarakhand
56	Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake	Begusarai, Bihar
57	Sultanpur National Park	Gurugram, Haryana
58	Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary	Jhajjar, Haryana
59	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Ahemedabad, Gujarat
60	Thol Lake	Mehsana, Gujarat
61	Wadhvana Wetland	Vadodara, Gujarat
62	Khijadia Bird Sanctuary	Jamnagar, Gujarat
63	Ranganathituu Bird Sanctuary	Karnataka
64	Nanda Lake	Goa

64 Ramsar sites in India map

Important Question answer about the Wetlands under Ramsar Convention

❖ Which is the largest wetland under the Ramsar convention in India?
☞ Sundarbans, West Bengal (423,000 hectares)

❖ Which is the smallest wetland under the Ramsar convention in India?
☞ Renuka Wetland, Himachal Pradesh (20 hectares)

❖ Which is the first wetland under the Ramsar convention in India?
☞ Chilka Lake (1981) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan)

❖ First wetland under Ramsar convention of Uttarakhand?
☞ Assan Barrage

❖ At present there are how many Ramsar sites in India?
☞ 64

❖ 8th wetland of Uttar Pradesh under Ramsar convention?
☞ Sur Sarovar

❖ Which Indian state has the most number of Ramsar sites?
☞ Uttar Pradesh (10)

❖ 42nd Ramsar site of India?
☞ Tso Kar (Ladakh)

❖ In which plateau is Tso Kar wetland located?
☞ Rupshu Plateau

❖ In which plateau Tso Moriri wetland located?
☞ Changthang Plateau

❖ What is the name of the 46th Ramsar Wetland Site in India
☞ Wadhvana Wetland, Gujarat

❖ What is the name of the 47th Ramsar Wetland Site in India
☞ Haiderpur Wetland, Uttar Pradesh

❖ What is the name of the 49th Ramsar wetlands in India?
☞ Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary (Gujarat)

❖ What is the name of the 64th Ramsar wetland of India?
☞ Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)

A brief note on newly listed wetlands under Ramsar Convention

About Haiderpur Wetland 

•  It is India’s 47th Ramsar Wetland Site.

•  The Haiderpur Wetland is located in Uttar Pradesh.

• It is one of the largest human-made wetlands that was formed in 1984.

• The wetland was constructed after the construction of the Madhya Ganga Barrage.

• It is fed by the Ganges and its tributary Solani river.

•  Total area covered by the wetland is  6908 hectares within the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor districts.

• The wetland is home to over 320 species of birds.

About Bakhira Bird Sanctuary wetland

•  It is India’s 49th Ramsar Wetland Site.

•  The Bakhira Bird Sanctuary is located in Sant Kabir Nagar district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

• The sanctuary was established in 1980.

• The Bakhira Bird Sanctuary is the largest natural flood plain wetland in India.

• Now, both Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have 10 Ramsar wetlands.

List of Ramsar Sites in Uttar Pradesh

1. Saman Bird Sanctuary
2. Sur Sarovar
3. Sarsai Nawar Jheel
4. Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary
5. Samaspur Bird Sanctuary
6. Sandi Bird Sanctuary
7.  Parvati Aranga Bird Sanctuary
8. Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch)
9.  Haiderpur Wetland
10. Bakhira Bird Sanctuarywetland

About Khijadia Bird Sanctuary wetland

•  It is India’s 48th Ramsar Wetland Site.

•  The Khijadia Bird Sanctuary is located in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat.

• About 300 species of migratory birds have been recorded here.

• The sanctuary is unique having both freshwater lakes, and salt, and freshwater marshlands.

•  The sanctuary is spread over an area of 6.05 km².

• It is the biggest bird sanctuary in Gujarat

• It was declared as a Bird Sanctuary on 6 November 1982.

Karikili Bird Sanctuary

• The Karikili Bird Sanctuary is located in the Kancheepuram District of the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

• The sanctuary is about 75 km from Chennai, south of Chengalpattu.

• About 100 species have been recorded from this sanctuary.

• Karikili Bird Sanctuary along with Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary has been identified as one of the Important Bird Areas of Tamil Nadu.

Pallikaranai wetland

• Pallikaranai wetland is a freshwater marsh in the city of Chennai, India.

• It is the only surviving wetland ecosystem of Chennai.

• It is located along the Coromandel Coast south of the Adyar Estuary.

• Also, it acts as an aquifer buffer in flood-prone Chennai and Chengalpattu districts.

Pichavaram Mangrove Forest

• The village Pichavaram is located near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India.

• It lies between the Vellar Estuary to the north and the Coleroon Estuary to the south.

• Pichavaram mangrove forest is one of the largest mangrove forests in India covering an area of about 1100 hectares.

• A sand bar separate the mangrove forest from the Bay of Bengal.

• The biotope consists of species such as Avicennia and Rhizophora.

• It also supports the existence of rare species of economically important shellfish and finfish.

Pala wetland

• It is Mizoram’s first wetland under the Ramsar convention.

• The Pala wetland is the largest natural wetland in Mizoram.

• Pala wetland is located in Siaha district, Mizoram.

• The wetland is situated about 6 km from the nearest village called Phura.

• It lies under the Phura forest range of the Mara autonomous district council region.

• It is spread over 1850 hectares of land.

• Pala wetland also serves as the primary source of fish for the community.

• The Pala wetland is surrounded by Hillocks of lush semi-evergreen forest.

Sakhya Sagar lake

• Sakhya Sagar lake is located near Mahadev national park.

• The lake was created by the river Manier.

Frequently Asked Questions on Ramsar Sites in India

Important Source of this Article
• Worldwildlife
• Ramsar.org

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• List of National Park(Updated List)
• List of Tiger reserves in India (Updated List)