The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, June 5, 2026 — World Environment Day — shared remarks by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighting the state's wetland conservation record, noting that Uttar Pradesh has grown its count of internationally recognised Ramsar wetland sites from one to thirteen over the past nine years.

In the post, Chief Minister Adityanath stated: 'Wetland Scheme ke antargat akele Uttar Pradesh mein 100 sites chinhit ki gayi hain.' ['Under the Wetland Scheme, as many as 100 sites have been identified in Uttar Pradesh alone.'] He added that nine years ago the state had only a single Ramsar site, whereas today that number stands at thirteen.

Context

Uttar Pradesh's lone Ramsar site for most of its post-independence history was the Upper Ganga River stretch between Brijghat and Narora, designated in 2005. The Ramsar Convention, an international treaty signed in 1971 and joined by India in 1982, obliges signatory nations to identify and sustainably manage wetlands of international importance. A site earns Ramsar status when it meets criteria related to ecological character, biodiversity, or hydrological significance.

The remarks were made under the hashtag #एक_पेड़_माँ_के_नाम ('Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' — 'A Tree in Mother's Name'), the state's ongoing afforestation campaign that links tree-planting pledges to personal and ecological commitments. Sharing wetland data under this campaign signals the government's intent to frame both initiatives as part of a single environmental agenda.

Policy Backdrop

India's acceleration of Ramsar designations has been a visible feature of its international environmental commitments, particularly in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15 on life on land. Nationally, the count of Ramsar sites has risen sharply since 2017, with several new designations coming from the Ganga basin states. Uttar Pradesh, which sits astride the Ganga and its tributaries, holds some of the subcontinent's most ecologically significant floodplain and oxbow-lake wetlands.

The state government's reference to a 'Wetland Scheme' under which 100 sites have been identified suggests a structured state-level inventory exercise running alongside the national Ramsar nomination pipeline. Identification precedes formal designation and is a prerequisite for eventual protection and management-plan preparation.

Stakeholders and Impact

Wetland conservation in Uttar Pradesh directly affects fishing and farming communities dependent on floodplain ecosystems, as well as migratory bird populations that use the Indo-Gangetic Plain as a flyway corridor. The state forest department, conservation organisations, and local gram panchayats are the primary implementing bodies for site-level management.

Expanding the number of protected wetlands also carries economic implications: Ramsar-listed sites can attract eco-tourism investment and are eligible for central and international conservation funding streams. For communities living around sites such as Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary and Sandi Bird Sanctuary — both in the state — formal recognition has historically improved resource governance.

What's Next

The immediate policy task following site identification is the preparation and notification of management plans for each of the 100 identified wetlands. Formal Ramsar nomination requires central government endorsement and submission to the Ramsar Secretariat, meaning the pathway from identified to designated involves multiple administrative steps.

With World Environment Day 2026 providing a high-visibility platform, the state government's public accounting of its wetland record is likely to feed into broader discussions around UP's green-budget allocations and its commitments under India's updated National Biodiversity Targets. Whether the 100 identified sites translate into new Ramsar nominations in the near term will be the metric conservationists watch most closely.