Convention on Wetlands
Why it Matters?
Wetlands, despite sustaining 40% of global biodiversity and 4 billion livelihoods, are vanishing rapidly and pose a serious threat to ecological and human resilience.
What You Should Know?
The Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
It was signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, and came into force in 1975.
It is the first modern international treaty focused on natural resource conservation.
As of 2025, it has 172 Contracting Parties, covering over 2,544 wetlands globally.
Article 1 of the Convention states that “wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”.
India joined the Ramsar Convention in 1982.
India has 91 Ramsar sites, covering around 1.36 million hectares.