India adds Patna Bird Sanctuary and Chhari-Dhand as new Ramsar sites, tally reaches 98

Key facts

• Patna Bird Sanctuary in Etah district, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhari-Dhand in Kutch district, Gujarat, were designated as Ramsar wetlands of international importance on 1 February 2026.
• India became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention in 1982 and now has 98 Ramsar sites.
• Chhari-Dhand is a seasonal saline wetland between the Banni grasslands and Kutch salt flats that supports about 30,000 common cranes and critically endangered sociable lapwings each winter.
• Patna Bird Sanctuary comprises freshwater marshes, woodlands and grasslands, records 178 bird species and 252 plant species, and is recognised as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife International.
• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated the sites are also home to chinkara, wolves, caracal, desert cats and desert foxes besides endangered birds.