Key Details
The addition of Sukhna Wetland and Sauj Jheel brings India’s Ramsar network to 103 sites, each recognised for its international ecological importance. The figures below show the scale of that network and what distinguishes its newest members.
National tally: India has 103 Ramsar Sites, up from 26 in 2014, spread across 28 States and Union Territories. Tamil Nadu has the most, with 20, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 14.
Sukhna Wetland, Chandigarh: The reservoir supports resident and migratory birds, including the endangered Pallas’s fish eagle. Sediment inflow and invasive species are among its management challenges.
Sauj Jheel, Uttar Pradesh: The floodplain lake in Mainpuri regularly supports more than 30,000 waterbirds. Proposed management measures include controls on fishing practices and cattle access.
After designation: States and Union Territories are responsible for maintaining a site’s ecological character through management and monitoring. Its Ramsar Information Sheet must be updated every six years.
The Latest Sites Show Why Wetlands Need Different Plans
Sukhna is a reservoir beside a city; Sauj Jheel is a shallow lake surrounded by farmland. Both are important bird habitats, but their pressures differ. At Sukhna, managing what washes into the reservoir from its catchment is central. At Sauj Jheel, fishing and livestock use must be considered alongside habitat protection. Adding both to the Ramsar List recognises their value; it does not make one conservation plan suitable for both.
India’s Growing List Is Backed by Site-Level Work
The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 provide the domestic framework, while the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems supports wetland management. Under Amrit Dharohar, the government reports flora and fauna inventories for 75 Ramsar Sites and carbon-stock assessments for 39. These are useful inputs for conservation decisions, though they are not, by themselves, measures of improving wetland health.
What Is a Ramsar Site?
A Ramsar Site is a wetland recognised as internationally important under the Convention on Wetlands, named after the Iranian city where it was adopted in 1971. A site qualifies by meeting at least one criterion, such as supporting threatened species, large numbers of waterbirds or a rare wetland habitat. Designation brings a commitment to conserve the wetland and use it wisely.
Policy Relevance
The rise from 26 to 103 sites is a substantial expansion in international recognition. For State wetland authorities, the practical task is more local: keeping water flows, habitats and the activities people depend on compatible with each site’s conservation needs.
Sukhna and Sauj Jheel offer different tests of that task. Progress at the former can be judged partly through sediment and invasive-species management; at the latter, through whether fishing and grazing arrangements protect its bird habitat while accounting for local use. Site-specific monitoring will say more about conservation than the national count alone.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will State authorities show that management at newly designated Ramsar Sites is protecting their ecological character while accommodating the communities that use them?
Follow the Full Backgrounder and Designation Update Here: PIB: Ramsar Sites in India | Convention on Wetlands: Sukhna Wetland and Sauj Jheel