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India and Germany signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on the Conservation and Wise Use of Wetlands of International Importance on the sidelines of the 4th Indo-German Environment Forum in New Delhi on 1 September 2026.
The Forum was co-chaired by Union Environment Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav and German Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety H.E. Carsten Schneider, on the theme 'Together For More Resilience'.
The IGEF, held since 2008, is the highest-level bilateral forum between India and Germany on environmental policy; the two countries are marking 75 years of diplomatic relations this year.
Shri Yadav said India's circular economy could generate a market value of more than USD 2 trillion and close to 10 million jobs by 2050, and cited the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition set up during India's G20 Presidency.
Thematic sessions covered low-carbon industries; biodiversity in wetlands, mountains and forests; resource efficiency and circular economy as a business model; and sustainable finance, green skills and investment mobilisation.
'Wise use' is the Ramsar Convention's central principle: wetlands are to be maintained in their ecological character through sustainable use within an ecosystem approach - neither fenced off from people nor drained for other uses. It applies to ALL wetlands in a country, not merely those designated as Ramsar Sites, which is why it stands as one of the Convention's three pillars alongside designating and conserving Wetlands of International Importance and cooperating on transboundary wetlands. A bilateral instrument on 'conservation and wise use' therefore covers management practice, restoration science and community participation rather than site designation alone.
Simple Analogy: It is the difference between locking a working farm behind a gate and farming it so that it is still productive a century from now.
The intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, adopted at Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971 and in force since 21 December 1975. India has been a Contracting Party since 1 February 1982. World Wetlands Day is observed on 2 February, the anniversary of its adoption.
Nodal ministry for wetlands, biodiversity, climate change and pollution control; the Indian organiser of the IGEF and signatory to the Joint Declaration of Intent.
Germany's environment ministry and co-organiser of the IGEF; its minister co-chairs the Forum.
Industry-led global coalition on resource efficiency and the circular economy, conceived during India's G20 Presidency and launched in Chennai in 2023 alongside the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting, with 39 multinational founding members. It rests on three pillars - partnerships for impact, technology cooperation and finance for scale.
Promote the conservation values of India's Ramsar Sites while generating local employment and livelihoods through nature tourism.
Key: Announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and launched by MoEFCC in June 2023 for implementation over three years, in convergence with central ministries, State wetland authorities and local institutions; capacity building of communities around Ramsar Sites is its core activity.
Centrally sponsored scheme of MoEFCC for the conservation and management of wetlands and lakes through State-implemented management plans.
Key: Funds catchment treatment, shoreline protection, pollution abatement and biodiversity conservation in identified wetlands; the State/UT Wetlands Authorities created by the 2017 Rules are the implementing interface.
Align bilateral cooperation with the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement across energy transition, green mobility, climate adaptation, biodiversity, circular economy and sustainable urban development.
Key: Signed in May 2022 during the 6th Inter-Governmental Consultations, with a German commitment of at least EUR 10 billion in additional funding until 2030. The new wetlands Joint Declaration of Intent sits inside this partnership.
Notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, superseding the 2010 Rules. They decentralise wetland governance by creating State/UT Wetlands Authorities in place of the earlier central authority, and prohibit activities such as solid waste dumping, discharge of untreated effluents and encroachment.
The umbrella statute under which the Wetlands Rules and most environmental notifications are framed.
Many Ramsar Sites are also National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries or Conservation Reserves - Keoladeo among them - and draw their strongest legal protection from this Act rather than from Ramsar designation, which carries no domestic enforcement power of its own.
A register within the Ramsar List of sites where the ecological character has changed, is changing or is likely to change through human interference - the Convention's watch-list. India's entries are Keoladeo and Loktak.
Observed on 2 February each year, marking the adoption of the Convention in 1971; new Indian Ramsar designations are typically announced around it.
RECEIC emerged from India's G20 Presidency and is the standing example of an industry-led outcome from an Indian presidency - often paired in questions with the Global Biofuels Alliance and the International Solar Alliance.
The updated NDC of August 2022 set the 45% emissions-intensity and 50% non-fossil capacity targets for 2030; the Cabinet has since approved India's NDC for 2031-2035 for communication to the UNFCCC.
GS Paper 3 > Environment > Conservation and International Conventions; GS Paper 2 > International Relations > Bilateral Agreements
General Awareness > Environment and International Organisations
General Awareness > Environment
If a wetland of international importance is brought under the 'Montreux Record', what does it imply?
Answer: Changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur in the wetland as a result of human interference
With reference to a conservation organization called 'Wetlands International', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It is an intergovernmental organization formed by the countries which are signatories to Ramsar Convention. 2. It works at the field level to develop and mobilize knowledge, and use the practical experience to advocate for better policies. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 2 only
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: 2 and 3 only
Consider the following statements: Statement I: Circular economy reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases. Statement II: Circular economy reduces the use of raw materials as inputs. Statement III: Circular economy reduces wastage in the production process. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer: Both Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
In the context of which one of the following are the terms 'pyrolysis and plasma gasification' mentioned?
Answer: Waste-to-energy technologies
Ramsar and wetlands feature in UPSC Prelims nearly every year, usually through site identification or the Convention's principles.
A signed statement of intended cooperation between governments - politically binding in practice but not a treaty creating legal obligations.
Maintenance of the ecological character of wetlands through sustainable use within an ecosystem approach - the Ramsar Convention's founding principle, applying to all wetlands and not only designated sites.
The Ramsar watch-list of designated sites whose ecological character has changed, is changing or is likely to change due to human interference.
An economic model that keeps materials in use through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling instead of the linear take-make-dispose model.