Wetland Conservation Programme
- Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic system where the water table is usually near the water surface and land is covered by shallow water.
- Essential as: control floods, water treatment, recharging of water sources, reduce sediments, check soil erosion, bulwark against encroachment by the sea, winter resort for birds and important for flora and fauna. They also provide a variety of resources
- Ramsar Convention: mangroves, corals, estuaries, bays, creeks, flood plains, sea grasses, lakes etc included
- A programme on conservation of wetlands was initiated in 1987 with the basic objective of identification of wetlands of national importance, assessment of wetland resources, promotion of R&D activities and formulation and implementation of management action plans
- A steering committee in each state headed by the Chief Secretary consists of members from all departments related to the wetland conservation in the state. Successful model.
- India is a member of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1971
- Steps forward
- Make use of the traditional knowledge of the people living near the wetlands for its conservation along with the engineering solutions
- Monitor the impact of implementation of management action plans
- Wetlands of India under Ramsar Convention
| Name | State | Remark |
| 1. Ashtamudi WL | Kerala | |
| 2. Bhitarkanika Mangroves | Orissa | |
| 3. Bhoj WL | MP | |
| 4. Chilka Lake | Orissa | 2nd largest in India: 116500 ha |
| 5. Deepor Beel | Assam | |
| 6. East Calcutta WL | WB | |
| 7. Harike Lake | Punjab | |
| 8. Kanjli | Punjab | |
| 9. Keoladeo National Park | Rajasthan | |
| 10. Kolleru Lake | AP | |
| 11. Loktak Lake | Manipur | |
| 12. Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary | TN | |
| 13. Pong Dam Lake | HP | |
| 14. Ropar | Punjab | |
| 15. Sambhar Lake | Rajasthan | |
| 16. Sasthamkotta Lake | Kerala | |
| 17. Tsomoriri | J&K | |
| 18. Vembanad-Kol WL | Kerala | Largest in India: 151250 ha |
| 19. Wular Lake | J&K | |
| 20. Chandratal | HP | 2nd Smallest: 49 ha |
| 21. Renuka | HP | Smallest: 20 ha |
| 22. Rudrasagar | Tripura | |
| 23. Upper Ganga | UP | Total area of these 26 wetlands: 677131 ha |
| 24. Hokarsar (Hokera) | J&K | Kerala has the highest area under wetlands |
| 25. Surinsar & Mansar | J&K | J&K has the largest number of wetlands (4) |
| 26. Gharana (2010) | J&K |
The Montreux Record. Sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance which are considered to have undergone, to be undergoing, or to be likely to undergo change in their ecological character brought about by human action may be placed on the Montreux Record and may benefit from the application of the Ramsar Advisory Mission and other forms of technical assistance.
- Keoladeo national park and Loktak lake from India are included in the list
Changwon Declaration
The primary purpose of the “Changwon Declaration on human well-being and wetlands”,adopted by Resolution X.3 of the recent meeting of the Conference of the Parties, “is to transmit key messages concerning wetland-related issues to the many stakeholders and decision-makers beyond the Ramsar community who are relevant to the conservation and wise use of wetlands, to inform their actions and decision-making”