Comment on the National Wetland Conservation Programme initiated by the Government of India and name a few India’s wetlands of international importance included in the Ramsar Sites.
Approach · directive: “comment / name”
What it asks · Comment on the aims, working and limits of the National Wetland Conservation Programme and name some of India's Ramsar wetlands.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Comment on the National Wetland Conservation Programme: aims, working, evolution and limits
- Name a few of India's wetlands of international importance included in the Ramsar list
Open with · Wetlands purify water, recharge groundwater, buffer floods and shelter biodiversity, yet they are among the fastest-degrading ecosystems.
Cover
- NWCP: begun in the mid-1980s by the environment ministry to identify priority wetlands, prepare management action plans and give states financial help for conservation.
- Activities: survey and demarcation, catchment treatment, pollution control and de-silting, protection of biodiversity and community awareness.
- Later change: in 2013 it was merged with the National Lake Conservation Plan into the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA).
- Regulation: the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 adopt a wise-use approach with state wetland authorities; 'Amrit Dharohar' (2023) promotes Ramsar sites.
- Scale: India reached 75 Ramsar sites on 13 August 2022, the largest network in South Asia.
- Ramsar sites: Chilika (Odisha), Keoladeo (Rajasthan), Loktak (Manipur), Sundarban (West Bengal), Wular (Jammu and Kashmir), Harike (Punjab) and Sambhar (Rajasthan).
- Gaps: encroachment, sewage and industrial pollution, weak state capacity, inadequate funds, poor inter-department coordination and limited legal protection.
Close with · A basin-wide, community-based and legally enforceable approach is needed to protect wetlands and the services they provide.
Add value (verified)
- PIB backgrounder (updated 26 August 2022): with 11 sites added on 13 August 2022, India had 75 Ramsar sites, the largest network in South Asia; 49 of them were designated between 2014 and August 2022. PIB backgrounder: With 75 Ramsar sites India has largest network in South Asia (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), updated 26 August 2022 ↗“On August 13, 2022 India added 11 wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make total 75 Ramsar sites in the country in the 75th year of Independence.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 249 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Wetlands purify water, recharge aquifers, buffer floods and shelter biodiversity, yet they are among the fastest-degrading ecosystems in India.
The National Wetland Conservation Programme
- Origin and aim: launched by the environment ministry in the mid-1980s to identify priority wetlands, prepare management action plans and fund states for their conservation.
- Activities: survey and demarcation, catchment treatment, pollution abatement and de-silting, biodiversity protection, and community awareness.
- Evolution: merged in 2013 with the National Lake Conservation Plan into the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA), so lakes and wetlands are treated together.
- Regulation: the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 adopt 'wise use' with state wetland authorities; 'Amrit Dharohar' (2023) promotes Ramsar sites for conservation and eco-tourism.
Assessment
- Strengths: a centrally funded framework where none existed, management plans for major wetlands, and a Ramsar network that reached 75 sites in August 2022, the largest in South Asia.
- Weaknesses: encroachment and sewage continue; funds are inadequate and state capacity weak; departments work in silos; and many small wetlands remain outside legal protection.
Ramsar sites in India
- Ramsar sites are wetlands designated of international importance under the Convention on Wetlands adopted at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971; India's network is the largest in South Asia.
- Chilika Lake (Odisha), Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), Loktak Lake (Manipur), Sundarban Wetland (West Bengal), Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir), Harike (Punjab) and Sambhar Lake (Rajasthan).
Wetland protection now needs a basin-wide, community-based and legally enforceable approach, so that the programme's plans become protected water bodies on the ground.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify). UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.