Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Montreux Record
"A register, maintained under the Ramsar Convention, of wetland sites on the Ramsar List whose ecological character has changed, is changing, or is likely to change due to human interference or technological development."
The Montreux Record is a special register maintained under the Ramsar Convention (the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, 1971) that flags specific wetland sites already on the main Ramsar List as facing a documented decline or threatened decline in ecological character. Placement on the Record is intended to draw priority conservation attention to a site and to trigger a Ramsar Advisory Mission, a technical assessment offering the Contracting Party guidance on restoration. Being added to the Montreux Record is not a penalty in a legal sense; the Ramsar Convention itself has no enforcement mechanism and does not restrict land use directly. Rather, the Record functions as an international transparency and priority-flagging tool, distinguishing sites in active ecological decline from the broader Ramsar List, which otherwise treats every listed site as of equal international importance regardless of its actual condition. India has two entries on the Montreux Record: Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, whose ecological character was disrupted by changes in water availability from its dependent irrigation systems (the Ajan Bandh and Panchana systems), and Loktak Lake in Manipur. Chilika Lake in Odisha was previously on the Record but was removed after a restoration effort widely cited as a conservation success, illustrating that Montreux Record placement is not permanent and that removal is itself a recognised conservation milestone.
A high-value, currently under-covered Prelims/Mains fact for the Ramsar framework; frequently confused with simple Ramsar listing, and useful for demonstrating that international wetland designation does not by itself guarantee ecological health.
- 1 Montreux Record: a sub-list under the Ramsar Convention flagging sites facing documented or likely decline in ecological character.
- 2 Triggers eligibility for a Ramsar Advisory Mission, a technical restoration assessment; carries no legal enforcement power.
- 3 India has two entries: Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur, Rajasthan) and Loktak Lake (Manipur).
- 4 Keoladeo's entry arose from water-supply disruption affecting the site's managed wetland hydrology.
- 5 Chilika Lake (Odisha) was previously on the Record and was removed following successful restoration, an example of the Record's removability.
- 6 Distinct from the main Ramsar List: a site can be on the main List without being on the Montreux Record.
- 7 India's Ramsar network grew from 26 sites in 2014 to 101 in 2026, but only these two sites carry the Montreux 'at risk' flag.
Keoladeo National Park's presence on the Montreux Record, alongside Loktak Lake, is cited to show that even India's oldest and most celebrated Ramsar sites are not immune to documented ecological decline.
