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Environment9 min read•Updated: 2026-08-14

Important Ramsar Wetlands & National Parks in India (2026 Map Guide & Cheat Sheet)

Montreux record sites, latest additions, critical river basins, and wildlife corridors for UPSC.

UPSCSphere Academic Review TeamEcology & Environment Faculty

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Core Takeaways for UPSC Prelims

India currently has over 85 designated Ramsar Sites of International Importance, the highest in South Asia.
Tamil Nadu has the highest number of Ramsar sites in India, followed by Uttar Pradesh.
Only 2 Indian wetlands are currently listed in the Montreux Record: Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Loktak Lake (Manipur). Chilika Lake was removed after successful restoration.
Loktak Lake is famous for its floating phumdis and the world's only floating national park: Keibul Lamjao (habitat of endangered Sangai brow-antlered deer).

1. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1971)

Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the convention entered into force in 1975. It is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. **Definition of Wetland under Ramsar:** Areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.

2. The Montreux Record Explained

The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the Ramsar List where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution, or other human interference. • **Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan):** Listed due to water shortage and grazing pressure. • **Loktak Lake (Manipur):** Listed due to ecological problems resulting from Ithai barrage construction and siltation. • **Chilika Lake (Odisha):** Added in 1993, but successfully removed in 2002 after lake mouth desiltation.

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UPSC 2026 (GS) • Critical Minerals & Deep Ocean Mission

With reference to Critical and Strategic Minerals in India, consider the following pairs: Mineral — Primary Application / Domestic Occurrence 1. Lithium — Reasi district (Salal-Haimana), Jammu & Kashmir 2. Cobalt — Polymetallic nodules in Central Indian Ocean Basin 3. Titanium — Ilmenite and Rutile in coastal beach sands of Odisha and Kerala 4. Nickel — Sukinda chromite belt, Odisha How many of the above pairs are correctly matched? (UPSC CSE Prelims 2026)