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.
It asks 2 things — 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 aquifers, buffer floods and shelter birds, yet degrade fast; India's Ramsar network grew from 26 sites in 2014 to 75 in August 2022 and 98 by February 2026, and the National Wetland Conservation Programme is where this effort began.
Cover
- NWCP: begun in the mid-1980s by the environment ministry to identify priority wetlands, prepare management action plans and fund states; survey, catchment treatment, pollution control, de-silting, awareness.
- Evolution: merged in February 2013 with the National Lake Conservation Plan into the NPCA, which has sanctioned assistance for 165 wetlands including 42 Ramsar sites.
- Regulation: Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 under the EP Act with state wetland authorities; Amrit Dharohar (2023) for Ramsar sites; Mission Sahbhagita.
- Scale: Ramsar sites 26 in 2014, 75 on 13 August 2022 (largest in South Asia), 98 by February 2026.
- Ramsar sites: Chilika (Odisha), Keoladeo (Rajasthan), Loktak (Manipur), Sundarban (West Bengal), Wular (Jammu and Kashmir), Harike (Punjab), Sambhar (Rajasthan).
- Gaps: encroachment, sewage and industrial pollution, weak state capacity, thin funds, silos, small wetlands outside notification.
- State model and way forward: Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission (100 wetlands, 50 Ramsar targets); the National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-2031's proposed national wetlands mission.
Close with · The National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-2031 envisages a national wetlands mission; building it on the NWCP-NPCA foundation would turn plans on paper into living wetlands and keep the Ramsar network wise-use in practice, not only in designation.
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.”
- MoEFCC (PIB, 2 February 2026, World Wetlands Day): India's Ramsar network has expanded from 26 sites in 2014 to 98.PIB: Wetlands nurture not just Ecosystems but Communities, Culture and Livelihoods (World Wetlands Day 2026) ↗“India’s Ramsar network has expanded to 98 sites from 26 in 2014.”
- PIB backgrounder (February 2023): the NWCP ran till 2012-13 and was merged in February 2013 with the National Lake Conservation Plan into the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA).PIB backgrounder: World Wetlands Day (February 2023), para 9 ↗“the NWCP has been merged in February, 2013 with another scheme called National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) into a new integrated scheme of ‘National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems’ (NPCA) for holistic conservation of lakes and wetlands.”
- PIB backgrounder (February 2023): the National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-2031 lists inland aquatic ecosystems among 17 priority areas and envisages a national wetlands mission and a national wetlands biodiversity register.PIB backgrounder: World Wetlands Day (February 2023), para 10 ↗“India’s National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) identifies conservation of inland aquatic ecosystems as one of the 17 priority areas, and envisages the development of a national wetlands mission and a national wetlands biodiversity register”
- Mission Sahbhagita (Rajya Sabha reply, 16 March 2023): under the NPCA, central assistance has been sanctioned for 165 wetlands, including 42 Ramsar sites, on the basis of states' integrated management plans.PIB: Mission Sahbhagita to enable a society ownership approach for participatory conservation and wise use of Wetlands (16 March 2023) ↗“under the NPCA scheme, MoEF&CC has sanctioned the central assistance for conservation of 165 wetlands across the country, including 42 Ramsar sites, based on the proposals received from the State Governments/ Union Territories in the form of Integrated Management Plans”
- Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission (Government Order 59, 25 March 2022): a five-year mission to notify at least 100 wetlands under the 2017 Rules and seek Ramsar status for at least 50.Government of Tamil Nadu, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department: G.O. (Ms) No. 59 dated 25.03.2022, Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission, expected outcomes ↗“Notification of a minimum of 100 wetlands in the State aligning the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 iii. Declaration of minimum 50 wetland sites of international significance as RAMSAR sites”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 366words · Minimalist IAS
Wetlands purify water, recharge aquifers, buffer floods and shelter birds, yet they are among India's fastest-degrading ecosystems. India's Ramsar network grew from 26 sites in 2014 to 75 in August 2022, the largest in South Asia, and to 98 by February 2026; the National Wetland Conservation Programme is where this effort began.
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 February 2013 with the National Lake Conservation Plan into the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA), which has sanctioned central assistance for 165 wetlands, including 42 Ramsar sites.
- Regulation: the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 under the Environment (Protection) Act bring 'wise use' and state wetland authorities; Amrit Dharohar (2023) promotes Ramsar sites for conservation and livelihoods.
- 1971: Ramsar Convention
- 1985-86: NWCP begins
- 2013: merger into NPCA
- 2017: Wetlands Rules
- 2023: Amrit Dharohar
Comment: what it achieved and where it fell short
- Strengths: a funded national framework where none existed, management plans for major wetlands, and the Ramsar momentum above.
- Weaknesses: encroachment and sewage continue; funds and state capacity are thin; departments work in silos; most small wetlands lack legal notification.
- State model: the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission (2022) set out to map and restore 100 wetlands, notify them under the 2017 Rules and seek Ramsar status for at least 50.
India's wetlands of international importance in the Ramsar list
- Ramsar sites: 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).
Way forward
- Notify and map: bring small wetlands under state notification with a public inventory, and treat each wetland with its catchment.
- People's ownership: scale Mission Sahbhagita's society-ownership approach and link wetland health to water and urban planning.
The National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-2031 already envisages a national wetlands mission; building it on the NWCP-NPCA foundation would turn plans on paper into living wetlands, and keep India's Ramsar network wise-use in practice, not only in designation.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
