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As per Article 9.2 of the Convention, “Any member of the United Nations or of one of the Specialized Agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency or Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice may become a Party to Ramsar Convention.” The convention is open for membership to any such nonmember nation or agency which satisfies the eligibility criteria laid under Article 9.2 (Matthews 1993; Ramsar Convention Secretariat 2011, 2016).

As per the guidelines, the instrument of ratification/accession has to be submitted to the depository of the convention rather than to any of the organs of the convention directly. Depository receives, reviews, and accepts the instrument of ratification/accession and does not have any other role in administration or implementation. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) serves as the Depository of the Ramsar Convention 2018 (Matthews 1993).

In order to join the Ramsar Convention, the concerned nation requires agreeing to and, subsequently, working toward the fulfillment of three requirements mentioned below:

1 Submit a model instrument of ratification/accession, duly signed by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and forwarded through proper diplomatic channels to the depository of the convention. The depository formally notifies Ramsar Secretariat and COP about it.

2 Identify and designate at least one of its wetlands to be included in the list of “wetlands of international importance.” Afterward, the party needs to designate suitable wetlands within its territory for inclusion in the list.

3 Must agree to contribute its share of (a percentage based on UN’s scale of assessments) to the triennial budget of the convention approved by the conference of parties during their ordinary meetings.

India joined the convention in the year 1981 and as per the mandate, India designated two of its wetlands, Chilka Lake (in Orissa) and Keoladeo Ghana NP (in Rajasthan) as Ramsar sites. Later, India expanded its network of Ramsar sites which currently has 42 wetlands with a cumulative area of 10 814 km² (Ramsar Sites Information Service 2020). The Ramsar sites designated by India have been provided in Table 2.3 and graphically shown in Figure 2.2.

Table 2.3 List of Ramsar sites of India (as mentioned in the numerical order in Figure 2.2).

S. No.	Name	State/UT	Area (km2)	Date of designation
1.	Wular Lake	Jammu and Kashmir	189	23.03.1990
2.	Hokera Wetland	Jammu and Kashmir	13.75	08.11.2005
3.	Surinsar‐Mansar Lakes	Jammu and Kashmir	3.5	08.11.2005
4.	Tsomoriri Lake	Ladakh	120	19.08.2002
5.	Tso Kar	Ladakh	95.77	17.11.2020
6.	Chandertal Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	0.49	08.11.2005
7.	Keshopur‐Miani Community Reserve	Punjab	3.4	26.09.2019
8.	Pong Dam Lake	Himachal Pradesh	156.62	19.08.2002
9.	Beas Conservation Reserve	Punjab	64.2	26.09.2019
10.	Kanjli Lake	Punjab	1.83	22.01.2002
11.	Harike Lake	Punjab	41	23.03.1990
12.	Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary	Punjab	1.2	26.09.2019
13.	Ropar Lake	Punjab	13.65	22.01.2002
14.	Renuka Wetland	Himachal Pradesh	0.2	08.11.2005
15.	Asan Barrage	Uttarakhand	4.44	21.07.2020
16.	Upper Ganga River	Uttar Pradesh	265.9	08.11.2005
17.	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan	240	23.03.1990
18.	Keoladeo Ghana NP	Rajasthan	23.73	01.10.1981
19.	Saman Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	5.3	02.12.2019
20.	Sandi Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	3	26.09.2019
21.	Sarsai Nawar Jheel	Uttar Pradesh	1.6	19.09.2019
22.	Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	2.2	19.09.2019
23.	Parvati Agra Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	7.2	02.12.2019
24.	Samaspur Bird Sanctuary	Uttar Pradesh	7.99	03.10.2019
25.	Sur Sarowar	Uttar Pradesh	4.31	13.11.2020
26.	Kanwar Taal	Bihar	26.2	21.07.2020
27.	Deepor Beel	Assam	40	19.08.2002
28.	Loktak Lake	Manipur	266	23.03.1990
29.	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura	2.4	08.11.2005
30.	Bhoj Wetlands	Madhya Pradesh	32.01	19.08.2002
31.	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat	120	24.09.2012
32.	East Calcutta Wetlands	West Bengal	125	19.08.2002
33.	Sunderbans Wetland	West Bengal	4230	30.01.2019
34.	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Orissa	650	19.08.2002
35.	Nandur Madhameshwar	Maharashtra	14.37	21.06.2019
36.	Lonar Lake	Maharashtra	4.21	13.11.2020
37.	Chilka Lake	Orissa	1165	01.10.1981
38.	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	901	19.08.2002
39.	Point Calimere	Tamil Nadu	385	19.08.2002
40.	Vembanad Kol Wetland	Kerala	1512.5	19.08.2002
41.	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala	3.73	19.08.2002
42.	Asthamudi Wetland	Kerala	614	19.08.2002

Figure 2.2 Ramsar sites in India.

Article 2.2 of the Ramsar Convention acts as the guiding light for the declaration of a Ramsar site. Any nation, desirous of declaring a wetland as a Ramsar Site has to adhere to the criteria (Table 2.4) laid down for this purpose. The process starts with the compilation of baseline information related to the area, altitude, wetland type, legal jurisdiction as well as important aspects related to hydrology, biology, land‐use, sociocultural aspects, conservation measures, and threats. The information is compiled in prescribed formats called the Ramsar Information Sheets (RIS). The RIS are submitted to Ramsar Secretariat. After the information provided in the RIS is verified and is believed to be correct and complete, the process for designation of the Ramsar site is moved forward. The RIS of the wetland is added further to the Ramsar Sites Database. As per Resolution VI.13 (1996), Ramsar Information Sheets for all the Ramsar Sites must be updated and resubmitted to the Secretariat, at least every six years (Matthews 1993).

Table 2.4 Criteria for the designation of Wetlands of International Importance.

Group A of the criteria Sites containing representative, rare, or unique wetland types		Criterion 1: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near‐natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.
Group B of the criteria Sites of international importance for conserving biodiversity	Criteria based on species and ecological communities	Criterion 2: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
Criterion 3: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
Criterion 4: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles or provides refuge during adverse conditions.
Specific criteria based on waterbirds	Criterion 5: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 20 000 or more waterbirds.
Criterion 6: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbirds.
Specific criteria based on fish	Criterion 7: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species, or families, life‐history stages, species interactions, and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and, thereby, contribute to global biological diversity.
Criterion 8: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.
Specific criteria based on other taxa	Criterion 9: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland‐dependent non‐avian animal species.

Out of all the world’s wetlands designated as Ramsar sites, 20.3% have been designated under criterion 2, i.e. such wetlands which support vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities. About 17.7% of the Ramsar sites have been designated under criterion 1 which has been reserved for those wetlands which “contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near‐natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region” (Figure 2.3). Lake Tsomoriri in Ladakh (India) has also been categorized under criterion 1. Only a miniscule percentage of 0.6 of the total Ramsar sites has been designated under criterion 9, which recognizes such wetlands which “regularly support 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland‐dependent non‐avian animal species” (Ramsar Sites Information Service 2020).

Figure 2.3 Percentage of Ramsar sites designated under different criteria.

Source: Data from Ramsar Sites Information Service https://rsis.ramsar.org/?pagetab=2. © John Wiley & Sons.