Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017
"India's domestic legal framework for protecting and regulating the use of wetlands"
The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 are India's domestic legal framework for wetland protection, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and administered by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. They replaced the 2010 Rules, prohibit harmful activities such as encroachment, conversion and waste dumping in notified wetlands, and empower State Wetland Authorities to identify, notify and regulate the wise use of wetlands. They are the domestic counterpart to the international Ramsar Convention.
As India crossed 100 Ramsar sites in June 2026, the gap between international designation and on-ground domestic protection became a live theme. UPSC tests these Rules under GS3 (environment, conservation governance), often highlighting that designation alone does not guarantee protection without enforcement against encroachment and pollution. Wetlands deliver carbon sequestration, flood control and biodiversity benefits.
- 1 Framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; administered by the MoEFCC; replaced the 2010 Rules
- 2 Prohibit encroachment, conversion and waste dumping in notified wetlands
- 3 Empower State Wetland Authorities to identify, notify and regulate wise use
- 4 The domestic counterpart to the international Ramsar Convention (1971; India joined 1982)
- 5 [object Object]
- 6 Wetlands provide carbon sequestration, flood buffering, groundwater recharge and habitat
