Wetlands: the Rules, Ramsar and the Montreux Record
Prelims and MainsCurrent affairs on this: Wetlands and Ramsar sites
A wetland is land wet enough for long enough that water shapes its soil and life: marshes, lakes, floodplains, mangroves, estuaries. India protects them under two instruments. The Ramsar Convention of 1971, signed at Ramsar in Iran and in force from 1975, lists wetlands of international importance and commits Parties to their "wise use"; India joined in 1982, with Chilika and Keoladeo as its first sites, and its list has grown fastest since 2019. At home, the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, under the Environment (Protection) Act, put every wetland under a State Wetland Authority, require each to be notified with a zone of influence, and prohibit conversion, encroachment, industry and waste dumping inside it. The Montreux Record is Ramsar's list of listed sites in ecological trouble; two Indian sites, Keoladeo and Loktak, are on it, and Chilika was removed in 2002 after restoration.
The wetland instruments
| Instrument | Year | Who | What it does | Indian handle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsar Convention | 1971, in force 1975 | Parties, secretariat at Gland | lists wetlands of international importance, wise use duty | India a Party since 1982 |
| Montreux Record | 1990 | Ramsar | lists listed sites under threat | Keoladeo and Loktak on it; Chilika removed 2002 |
| Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules | 2017 | MoEFCC under the Environment (Protection) Act | State Wetland Authorities, notification, prohibited activities | replaces the 2010 Rules |
| Amrit Dharohar | 2023 | MoEFCC | community based conservation of Ramsar sites | Budget 2023 scheme |
- Ramsar criteria: a site qualifies if it is a representative or rare wetland type, or supports threatened species, or regularly holds 20,000 waterbirds, or one per cent of a waterbird population, or is important for fish. World Wetlands Day is 2 February, the date of the convention.
- The 2017 Rules replaced the 2010 Rules; they created the National Wetlands Committee to advise, left notification to the States, and defined wise use as the Ramsar concept; paddy fields, river channels and man made tanks are excluded unless notified.
- Amrit Dharohar, announced in the 2023 Budget, funds conservation of Ramsar sites through local communities; Mission Sahbhagita and the wetland health cards are the monitoring side.
- Threats: encroachment and reclamation in cities, sewage and agricultural runoff, invasive water hyacinth, and upstream diversion; the Supreme Court has repeatedly ordered States to identify and notify wetlands.
- The count of India's Ramsar sites changes every year and is kept in the Ramsar sites subject; a question usually asks which State a site is in or which was added most recently.
Mains: India lists wetlands faster than it protects them: a Ramsar tag brings attention but no law, and the 2017 Rules that carry the law depend on State authorities that have notified only a fraction of what the atlas shows.
UPSC has asked
- Mains 2018: what a wetland is, the Ramsar concept of wise use, and Indian Ramsar sites
- Prelims 2014: what the Montreux Record implies
Resources
Further reading: Guidelines for implementing Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 (MoEFCC) · The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention)
See also: India's Ramsar sites · Mining buffers around wetland reserves · MISHTI · India's mangroves: what they are worth and what they lose