Marking the World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2026, this overview presents top ten interventions by judiciary to protect the wetlands in India during 2025 so far. Apart from this, there have been several wetlands protection related court cases going on across the country during the year and reports of some of the relevant matters can be seen here. The judiciary has also been pursuing cases pertaining to conservation of several Ramsar wetlands in the country as covered in the first part of the overview here.
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WWD 2026: Govts Wetlands Protection Actions mostly fail to convince
(Feature Image: An aerial shot of Madambakkam lake in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu shows buildings on the banks of the waterbody: Source)
On occasion of World’s Wetlands Day 2026, this overview compiles top ten reports from 2025 covering decisions and steps taken by various state governments for the protection of wetlands in India. There could be some more relevant reports which we could not track and compile. The first part and second part of the overview have covered the continual degradation of Ramsar sites and other wetlands across the country.
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WWD 2026: Top Ten Reports on Our continued Failure to Identify, Protect Wetlands
(Feature Image: Vegetation layer covering entire surface of Giri taal of Kashipur in US Nagar, Uttarakhand in Oct. 2025)
While the World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2026 on February 02 will be celebrated with “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage” theme, the top ten reports about wetlands in India in one year since 2025 WWD shows our collective failure in protecting both the traditional knowledge and cultural heritage concerning Indian wetlands. At national level, the progess of identification and notification process of wetlands over 2.25 ha is very slow. Official health cards of very few wetlands are in public domain.
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World Wetlands Day 2025: Ten Positive Stories from Urban India
(Feature Image: Dharmesh Barai, who leads the NGO Environment Life Foundation (ELF), began the “Mangrove Clean-Up Drive” on August 15. Source: TIE)
This compilation highlights ten positive efforts put in to protect the lakes, waterbodies and mangroves in urban India by individuals and environmental groups during 2024. The top ten stories come from five metros: Delhi (3), Mumbai (2), Bengaluru (2), Chennai (2) and Kolkata (1). We are sure such positive actions also happened in other cities in 2024, but we could not find them.
We have also compiled the top ten positive wetlands reports from the countryside here. Also see overviews on the worsening plight of Ramsar wetlands, deteriorating situation of wetlands in India in general and some important judicial interventions concerning protection and management of wetlands in the country that have taken place during the past one year.
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World Wetlands Day 2025: Top Ten Positive Actions & Reports
(Feature Image: Villagers plant mangrove saplings in an island off Kudikadu village in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district. Credit: The Print)
Marking the World Wetlands Day 2025, this article carries top ten positive reports from 2024 on protection and conservation of wetlands in India. The overview highlights some remarkable steps taken by individuals, community groups, governments for restoration of wetlands, lakes, waterbodies and mangroves in the country during the past year. We have also published three overviews on the issue including the situation of Ramsar wetlands, other wetlands and important judicial decisions regarding management of wetlands in the country.
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WWD 2025: Failing to Protect Wetlands for Common Future
(Feature Image: Machhi Talab in Dehradun chocked by solid waste, vegetion in May 2024. BS Rawat/SANDRP)
While we celebrate World’s Wetlands Day 2025 with theme of “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”, the top ten reports from 2024 show that the plight of wetlands in India remains miserable making the future of the waterbodies and dependent people uncertain. While govts continue to be lethargic in identifying and notifying the wetlands in the country, the govts initiated developmental plans, projects are further making them vulnerable to extinction. Amid this the threats from encroachment, siltation, pollution and climate change are only increasing. Also see the first part of the overview highlighting the deteriorating situation of Ramsar wetlands in India.
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World Wetlands Day 2025: Govts Projects, Apathy Damaging Ramsar Wetlands
(Feature Image: A road is being laid allegedly by a private realtor inside the Perumbakkam marshland. Photo Credit: TNIE, June 2023)
‘Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’ is the theme for World Wetlands Day 2025. Wetlands are ecosystems, in which water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life.
Indian government seems focusing more on increasing Ramsar wetlands number than ensuring the protection and conservation the existing Ramsar sites in country. Over the past one decade the numbers of Ramsar wetlands in India have sharply gone up from 26 in 2014 to 89 as of January 2025. Amid the thrust to increase the number, several existing or even recently declared Ramsar wetlands across the country have been facing multiple threats mainly due to governmental projects and constant negligence from the concerned authorities as can be seen from the reports from 2024 in this annual overview.
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WWD 2023: Some Positive India Wetlands Stories
In final part of annual World Wetlands Day overview, SANDRP highlights ten positive actions, efforts made by local communities, citizens groups for protection and conservation of wetlands in India in 2022. In earlier parts of the series, SANDRP has covered the general scenarios of wetlands (Part 1); steps taken by various governments (Part 2); judicial interventions (Part 3) and status of some of the Ramsar wetlands sites in the country (Part 4).
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WWD 2023: India’s Ramsar Wetlands face Damages, Threats & Govt Apathy
(Feature Image: The dumping ground is adjacent to the Deepor Beel wetland. Photo by Surajit Sharma./ Mongabay India, Aug. 2022)
Marking the World Wetlands Day 2023, this fourth overview by SANDRP compiles reports from 2022 revealing the worsening situation of Ramsar wetlands sites in India. In past few years, the government has shown great hurry in getting Ramsar tag for 75 wetlands from 26 in the country to symbolically mark 75th anniversary of Independence without showing any interest in resolving the existing and looming threats including increasing pollution, siltation, encroachments and climate change threats over old and even new Ramsar wetlands.
The ground reports show that the sole focus of the government is on pushing destructive and ornamental projects in the name of tourism and beautification on these wetlands which are only seen damaging their remaining eco-systems and threatening the livelihoods of dependent communities as an additional threat which only underlines that Ramsar tag does NOT help in wetlands protection and conservation. Experts, citizen groups have been raising this fact for years but in vain. Furthermore the process for seeking Ramsar recognition lacks consultation and participation of primary stakeholders and concerned citizens.
Moreover, in the name of information of Ramsar sites, there is only a combined interactive map apart from two separate pdf file links with location map and state wise listing Ramsar wetlands on Wetlands of India portal by MoEF&CC. The govt has neither prepared any concrete plan to address the threats, nor has it developed credible monitoring mechanism which clearly shows it has no intention to improve the governance of these sites.
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WWD 2023: Top Ten Judicial Interventions to Improve Wetlands Governance
(Feature Image: Construction activities in Sukhatal lake area in Nainital, Uttarakhand. Source: Dainik Jagran, Nov. 2022)
In this third part of wetlands overview, SANDRP tracks top ten judicial interventions regarding protection of wetlands in India in 2022. The part one has highlighted general situation of wetlands and part two has covered some governmental actions for wetlands conservation.
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SANDRP 