Ramsar Wetland Sites (As on June, 2024)

What is RAMSAR Wetland Sites

• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.

What is the Ramsar Convention?

• It is an intergovernmental treaty, adopted on 2^nd February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea
  • In India, it came into force on 1^st February 1982, under which wetlands of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites.
• World Wetlands Day (WWD):
  • It is celebrated across the globe to commemorate the adoption of this international agreement on wetlands on 2^nd February 1971.
  • The theme of World Wetland Day, 2024 is ‘Wetlands and Human Wellbeing’ which underscores the critical role wetlands play in enhancing our lives.
  • It highlights how wetlands contribute to flood protection, clean water, biodiversity and recreational opportunities, all of which are essential for human health and prosperity.

1. Ramsar sites are one of the major protected areas in the world.
2. There are currently over 2500 Ramsar sites in the world covering an area of 257,106,360 hectares.
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.

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
• To research any of the Ramsar sites, one can check the Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS)
• The number of contracting parties for the Ramsar Convention as of October 2019 is 171.

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

RAMSAR WETLANDS SITES (As on June, 2024)

  Source: MoEFCC & State Forest Departments