Pariksha SaathiIndia's Ramsar network stands at 103 sites, first in Asia and third in the world
India's network of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention has grown nearly fourfold since 2014, from 26 to 103 designated sites covering more than 13.87 lakh hectares across 28 States and Union Territories, according to a PIB backgrounder of 25 October 2026. By number of sites, India's network ranks first in Asia and third in the world. The tally reached 103 on 15 October 2026 with the designation of Sukhna Wetland (Chandigarh) and Sauj Jheel (Uttar Pradesh). The Convention was adopted at Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971, entered into force in 1975 and now has 172 Contracting Parties and over 2,536 Ramsar Sites worldwide. A wetland must meet at least one of nine criteria to be designated; criterion 5, for example, covers wetlands that regularly support 20,000 or more waterbirds. India's wetland conservation is anchored in the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
The Ramsar Convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982. Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan and Chilika in Odisha were the first two sites placed on the Ramsar List by the Government of India. During 2004-14, seven wetlands in India were identified as Ramsar Sites.
Reference: PIB backgrounder, 'World Wetlands Day (February 02)', 1 February 2023
Check yourself: which were the first two Indian wetlands placed on the Ramsar List, and when did the Convention enter into force in India?
Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Chilika (Odisha); on 1 February 1982.
Revision task: from this release, note India's number of Ramsar Sites now and in 2014, the area they cover, India's rank in Asia and the world, and where and when the Convention was adopted; from the note, when it entered into force in India and India's first two sites.
Test yourself
Under criterion 5 of the Ramsar Convention, a wetland qualifies as a Wetland of International Importance if it regularly supports how many waterbirds?
Show the answer
Answer: 20,000 or more
Criterion 5 covers wetlands that regularly support 20,000 or more waterbirds; a wetland must meet at least one of the nine criteria to be designated a Ramsar Site.
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