GK Chronicle GK Chronicle

General Knowledge / India GK / States and Union Territories

List of RAMSAR Sites in India


The Ramsar Convention, also called Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, was held in 1971 in the city of Ramsar in Iran for conserving and sustainable use of wetlands and acknowledging the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their cultural, scientific, economic and recreational importance. Every year, 2nd of February is celebrated as World Wetlands Day. By declaring and establishing Wetland Sites, National Parks, Biosphere Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries, Government is trying to conserve the nature as much as possible.



RAMSAR Wetland Sites in India

Presently, there are 49 RAMASAR sites in India. In 1981, Chilika Lake in Odisha became the first RAMSAR site in India that is designated under the Ramsar Convention and it is also the largest Ramsar Site in india. The smallest Ramsar Site in India is Renuka Wetland in Himachal P radesh.

The newly added Ramsar sites in India, which were added on 2nd Febuary 2022 (World Wetlands Day), are (i) Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat and (ii) Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh.

India established the Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for promoting sustainable and integrated management of marine and coastal areas in India.


Presently, Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan and Loktak Lake in Manipur are the two wetlands in India that are in the Montreux record. The Montreux Record is a register of RAMASAR sites, where ecological changes have happened, are happening, or are likely to happen because of pollution, technological developments or other human interference.


The following list shows total RAMSAR sites in India. The states and the Union Territories in India and their list of RAMSAR Sites are arranged from North to South.


    Sl. No. RAMSAR Site Name Location
    1 Tso Kar Wetland Complex Ladakh
    2 Tso Moriri Lake Ladakh
    3 Wular Lake Jammu & Kashmir
    4 Hokera Wetland Jammu & Kashmir
    5 Surinsar and Mansar Lakes Jammu & Kashmir
    6 Chandertal Wetland Himachal Pradesh
    7 Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh
    8 Renuka Wetland Himachal Pradesh
    9 Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve Punjab
    10 Kanjli Wetland Punjab
    11 Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary Punjab
    12 Ropar Lake Punjab
    13 Beas Conservation Reserve Punjab
    14 Harike Wetland Punjab
    15 Asan Barrage Uttarakhand
    16 Sultanpur National Park Haryana
    17 Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary Haryana
    18 Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch) Uttar Pradesh
    19 Sur Sarovar Uttar Pradesh
    20 Sandi Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    21 Saman Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    22 Sarsai Nawar Jheel Uttar Pradesh
    23 Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    24 Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    25 Samaspur Bird Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    26 Haiderpur Wetland Uttar Pradesh
    27 Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh
    28 Keoladeo Ghana National Park Rajasthan
    29 Sambhar Lake Rajasthan
    30 Deepor Beel Assam
    31 East Kolkata Wetlands West Bengal
    32 Sunderbans Wetland West Bengal
    33 Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake Bihar
    34 Bhoj Wetlands Madhya Pradesh
    35 Loktak Lake Manipur
    36 Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary Gujarat
    37 Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary Gujarat
    38 Wadhvana Wetland Gujarat
    39 Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary Gujarat
    40 Rudrasagar Lake Tripura
    41 Bhitarkanika Mangroves Odisha
    42 Chilika Lake Odisha
    43 Nandur Madhameshwar Wetland Maharashtra
    44 Lonar Lake Maharashtra
    45 Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh
    46 Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Tamil Nadu
    47 Vembanad Kol Wetland Kerala
    48 Sasthamkotta Lake Kerala
    49 Ashtamudi Wetland Kerala