Ramsar Sites in India

Every waterbody that prevails on this earth has a specific objective. While the ginormous oceans help sustain the ecosystem and act as a powerhouse of resources, smaller water bodies like the wetlands are not falling behind. Some of the specific wetlands have been rendered as Ramsar sites and they are of global importance as far as environmental impacts are concerned.

The Ramsar Convention has been brought forward by UNESCO under the treaty of 1971. Formerly these sites were quite underrated and getting destroyed by the act of human and nature without protection. Since 1971, UNESCO decided to take matters in their own hands so that Ramsar sites could be given the protection that they deserve and the wetland ecosystem and resources could sustain optimally. Currently, there are about 75 Ramsar sites in India (many added in 2022) and some more are yet to be added to the list.

Importance of Ramsar Sites In India

Had it not been for the presence of the wetlands, major portions of India would have been flooded by now. It might not be as attractive as the rivers and seas, but the functionality is commendable. Imagine a thick sponge soaking up water in front of a gushing pipe. It not only soaks up the water but also stores it for later use. Ramsar sites act similarly in the monsoon season when the waters are overflowing.It captures the flow instead of letting it flood the downstream areas and lets the water trickle slowly so that those areas can gte ample water supply all throughout the year. In fact, these wetlands are the reason why irrigation is a cakewalk in this country.

Total Ramsar Sites in India List

Here is a list of all the 75 Ramsar sites in India.

	Name	State	Date of Declaration	Area (Sq Km)
1	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	19 August 2002	901
2	Deepor Beel	Assam	19 August 2002	40
3	Kabartal Wetland	Bihar	21 July 2020	26.20
4	Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary	Gujarat	13 April 2021	5.12
5	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat	24 Sept 2012	120
6	Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary	Gujarat	5 April 2021	6.99
7	Wadhvana Wetland	Gujarat	5 April 2021	6.30
8	Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary	Haryana	25 May 2021	4.12
9	Sultanpur National Park	Haryana	25 May 2021	1.425
10	Chandertal Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	8 November 2005	0.49
11	Pong Dam Lake	Himachal Pradesh	19 August 2002	156.62
12	Renuka Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	8 November 2005	0.2
13	Wular Lake	Jammu & Kashmir	23 March 1990	189
14	Hokera Wetland	Jammu and Kashmir	8 November 2005	13.75
15	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Jammu and Kashmir	8 November 2005	3.5
16	Tsomoriri Lake	Jammu and Kashmir	19 August 2002	120
17	Asthamudi Wetland	Kerala	19 August 2002	614
18	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala	19 August 2002	3.73
19	Vembanad Kol Wetland	Kerala	19 August 2002	1512.5
20	Tso Kar Wetland Complex	Ladakh	17 November2020	95.77
21	Bhoj Wetlands	Madhya Pradesh	19 August 2002	32.01
22	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra	22 July 2020	4.27
23	Nandur Madhameshwar	Maharashtra	21 June 2019	14.37
24	Loktak Lake	Manipur	23 March 1990	266
25	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Orissa	19 August 2002	650
26	Chilka Lake	Orissa	1 December 1981	1165
27	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab	26 September 2019	64.289
28	Harike Lake	Punjab	23 March 1990	41
29	Kanjli Lake	Punjab	22 Jan 2002	1.83
30	Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve	Punjab	26 September 2019	3.439
31	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab	26 September 2019	1.16
32	Ropar Lake	Punjab	22 January 2002	13.65
33	Keoladeo Ghana NP	Rajasthan	1 January 1981	28.73
34	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan	23 March 1990	240
35	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	19 August 2002	385
36	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura	8 November 2005	2.4
37	Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	29 June 2021	28.94
38	Haiderpur Wetland	Uttar Pradesh	8 December 2021	69.08
39	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	19 September 2019	2.246
40	Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	2 December 2019	7.22
41	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	2 December.2019	52.63
42	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	3 October 2019	79.94
43	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	26 September 2019	30.85
44	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Uttar Pradesh	19 September 2019	16.13
45	Sur Sarovar	Uttar Pradesh	21 August 2020	4.31
46	Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch)	Uttar Pradesh	8 November 2005	265.9
47	Asan Conservation Reserve	Uttarakhand	21 July 2020	4.444
48	East Kolkata Wetlands	West Bengal	19 August 2002	125
49	Sunderbans Wetland	West Bengal	30 January 2019	4230
50	Karikili Bird Sanctuary	TN	4 August 2022	0.58442
51	Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest	TN	4 August 2022	12.47537
52	Pichavaram Mangrove	TN	4 August 2022	14.78642
53	Pala wetland	Mizoram	31 August 2022	18.5
54	Sakhya Sagar	MP	1 July 2022	2.48
55	Sirpur Wetland	Madhya Pradesh	1 July 2022	1.61
56	Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary	Karnataka	15 February 2022	5.177
57	Nanda Lake	Goa	6 August 2022	0.4201
58	Satkosia Gorge	Odisha	10 December 2021	981.9672
59	Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	4 August 2022	0.4377
60	Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	4 August 2022	0.4035
61	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	4 August 2022	0.7719
62	Vembannur Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu	4 August 2022	0.1975
63	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu	4 August 2022	526.71876
64	Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	11 August 2021	0.7204
65	Tampara Lake	Odisha		654
66	Hirakud Reservoir	Odisha		2.31
67	Ansupa Lake	Odisha		8.22
68	Yashwant Sagar	Madhya Pradesh		2.60
69	Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu		0.94
70	Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex	Tamil Nadu		1.12
71	Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu		0.96
72	Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu		65.21
73	Thane Creek	Maharashtra
74	Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir		8.01
75	Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve	Jammu and Kashmir		16.75

Some Other Important facts:

Did you know that Sunderban is not only the largest mangrove forest in India but also one of the most magnanimous Ramsar sites? It stretches across an area of 4230square kilometers.  Talking about the miniature wetlands, the smallest one is Renuka Wetlands situated in the Himachal Pradesh which has an area of only 0.2 square kilometers.

Not only that, but the Chilika Lake in Odisha as well as the Keoladeo National Park were rendered to be the first Ramsar site of India.

Formerly there were only 37 such sites but the number went up to 49 because 9 more were added to the list including Bakhira wildlife sanctuary as well as the Khijadia Wildlife sanctuary wetland. As on now, total 75 Ramsar sites are there after 15 new addition.

The newest Ramsar sites in India added after 2019  are Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pala Wetland In Mizoram, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve and Pichavaram in Tamil Nadu, as well as Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. Check the table above for complete details on New Ramsar Sites in India in 2022.