List of Ramsar wetlands in India UPSC

What are Ramsar Sites?

A Ramsar site is a wetland site which has given international importance as per the ‘Ramsar Convention’. or ‘Convention on Wetlands’. It is an international established by UNESCO, a treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites.  It came into force in 1975. The Ramsar convention has been given its name after the city where it took place in 1971, which is Ramsar in Iran. Giving the status of the Ramsar Site helps in the protection and management of wetlands and justified use of their resources.

As per the latest data, There are a total of 171 signatories nation to the convention and India became one of them on February 1, 1982.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”

The mission which has been decided by the Convention is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

75 Ramsar Sites In India

• India adds 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make total of 75 Ramsar sites covering an area of 13,26,677 ha in the country in the 75^th year of Independence.  
• The 11 new sites include Four (4) sites in Tamil Nadu, Three (3) in Odisha, Two (2) in Jammu & Kashmir, and One (1) each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Designation of these sites would help in the conservation and management of wetlands and the wise use of their resources.  
• India is one of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. India signed it on 1^st Feb 1982. From 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites, however, from 2014 to 2022, the country added 49 new wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites.  
• During this year itself (2022) a total of 28 sites have been declared as Ramsar sites. Based on the date of designation mentioned on the Ramsar Certificate, the number is 19 for this year (2022) and 14 for the previous year (2021). 
• Tamil Nadu has a maximum no. of Ramsar sites (14 nos), followed by UP which has 10 nos. of Ramsar sites.  

• No other South Asian country has as many sites though this has much to do with India’s geographical breadth and tropical diversity.
• The United Kingdom (175) and Mexico (142) — smaller countries than India — have the maximum Ramsar sites whereas Bolivia spans the largest area with 148,000 sq km under the Convention protection.
• The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation estimates India’s wetlands to span around 1,52,600 square kilometers which is 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country. A little over two-fifths are inland natural wetlands and about a quarter are coastal wetlands. 

List Of Ramsar Sites In India [Latest To Old Updated]you

The 75 Ramsar sites in India are listed below along with their year of designation & area in sq. km:

S.No	Ramsar Sites in India	State
1	Tampara Lake	Odisha
2	Hirakud Reservoir	Odisha
3	Ansupa Lake	Odisha
4	Yashwant Sagar	Madhya Pradesh
5	Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
6	Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu
7	Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
8	Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
9	Thane Creek	Maharashtra
10	Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir
11	Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir
12	Nanda Lake	Goa
13	Karikili Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
14	Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest	Tamil Nadu
15	Pichavaram Mangrove Forest	Tamil Nadu
16	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu
17	Vembannur Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu
18	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
19	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
20	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
21	Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary	Karnataka
22	Sakhya Sagar	Madhya Pradesh
23	Sirpur Wetland	Madhya Pradesh
24	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
25	Satkosia Gorge	Odisha
26	Pala Wetland	Mizoram
27	Bakhira Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
28	Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary	Haryana
29	Sultanpur National Park	Haryana
30	Haiderpur Wetland	Uttar Pradesh
31	Wadhvana Wetland	Gujarat
32	Thol Lake	Gujarat
33	Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary	Gujarat
34	Tso Kar Wetland Complex	Union Territory of Ladakh
35	Sur Sarovar	Uttar Pradesh
36	Asan Conservation Reserve	Uttarakhand
37	Kabartal Wetland	Bihar
38	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra
39	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
40	Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
41	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
42	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab
43	Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve	Punjab
44	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab
45	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
46	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh
47	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Uttar Pradesh
48	Nandur Madhameshwar	Maharashtra
49	Sundarban Wetland	West Bengal
50	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat
51	Upper Ganga River	Uttar Pradesh
52	Chandertal Wetland	Himachal Pradesh
53	Hokera Wetland	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
54	Renuka Wetland	Himachal Pradesh
55	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura
56	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
57	Ashtamudi Wetland	Kerala
58	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Odisha
59	Bhoj Wetland	Madhya Pradesh
60	Deepor Beel	Assam
61	East Calcutta Wetlands	West Bengal
62	Kanjli Wetland	Punjab
63	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh
64	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu
65	Pong Dam Lake	Himachal Pradesh
66	Ropar Wetland	Punjab
67	Tsomoriri	Union Territory of Ladakh
68	Vembanad-Kol Wetland	Kerala
69	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala
70	Wular Lake	Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
71	Harike Wetland	Punjab
72	Loktak Lake	Manipur
73	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan
74	Chilika Lake	Odisha
75	Keoladeo National Park	Rajasthan

Largest, Smallest, and Oldest Ramsar Sites in India

	Largest Ramsar Sites in India
	Ramsar Site	State	Area (km2)
1	Sundarban Wetland	West Bengal	4230
2	Vembanad-Kol Wetland	Kerala	1512.5
3	Chilika Lake	Odisha	1165
4	Satkosia Gorge	Odisha	981.97
5	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	901
	Smallest Ramsar Sites in India
1	Renuka Lake	Himachal Pradesh	0.2
2	Vembannur Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu	0.2
3	Vedanthangal BS	Tamil Nadu	0.4
4	Nanda Lake	Goa	0.42
5	Udhayamarthandapuram BS	Tamil Nadu	0.44
	Oldest Ramsar Sites in India
1	Chilka Lake – 1981
2	Keoladeo Ghana NP – 1981