Consider the following statements:
- 1.Under Ramsar Convention, it is mandatory on the part of the Government of India to protect and conserve all the wetlands in the territory of India.
- 2.The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 were framed by the Government of India based on the recommendations of Ramsar Convention.
- 3.The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 also encompass the drainage area or catchment regions of the wetlands as determined by the authority.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 3 only
Only statement 3 is correct. The 2010 Wetlands Rules were made under India's own Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and their definition of a wetland expressly takes in the drainage area or catchment region determined by the authority. The Ramsar Convention imposes no duty to protect every wetland.
- ✗ 1. Article 3 of the Convention asks parties to promote conservation of the wetlands on the Ramsar List and, only 'as far as possible', the wise use of wetlands generally. It is not a mandatory duty to protect all wetlands.
- ✗ 2. The 2010 Rules were framed by the Central Government under Section 25 read with Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Ramsar is only recalled in their preamble; they are domestic rules, not a set of Ramsar recommendations.
- ✓ 3. The Rules define a wetland to include the zone of direct influence, that is the drainage area or catchment region of the wetland as determined by the authority.
- • Since then The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 (G.S.R. 1203(E), 26 September 2017) superseded the 2010 Rules, and now speak of a 'zone of influence' within the wetland's catchment.
Remember · India's wetland rules come from the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, not from Ramsar; the 2010 definition of wetland included its drainage area or catchment.
Sources
- Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971), text of the Convention, Article 3 ↗ “The Contracting Parties shall formulate and implement their planning so as to promote the conservation of the wetlands included in the List, and as far as possible the wise use of wetlands in their territory.”
- National Green Tribunal judgment (April 2026) quoting Rule 2(g) of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 ↗ “These rules were framed in exercise of powers conferred by Section 25 read with Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. … and the zone of direct influence on wetlands that is to say the drainage area or catchment region of the wetlands as determined by the authority”
- Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, MoEFCC (CPCB legal portal copy) ↗ “in supersession of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·