Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary of Aligarh gets a global tag, taking India's tally of protected wetlands to 99

The Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh, has been designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, making it India's 99...

What Happened

The Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh, has been designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, making it India's 99th Ramsar site and Uttar Pradesh's 12th.
The designation was announced by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change on World Earth Day 2026, highlighting India's expanding wetland protection commitment.
Shekha Jheel is a 25-hectare freshwater lake located about 17 km east of Aligarh city, supporting 249 bird species including 62 wetland-dependent species and serving as a critical stopover on the Central Asian Flyway.
India now stands one Ramsar site away from the symbolic milestone of 100 designated wetlands — the highest count of any country in South Asia.

Static Topic Bridges

The Ramsar Convention: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1971)

The Ramsar Convention, formally the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, is an intergovernmental treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971. It is the only global environmental treaty dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of a single ecosystem type.

The Convention entered into force on 21 December 1975; India acceded to it in 1982.
The Ramsar Secretariat is based in Gland, Switzerland, and operates under the auspices of IUCN.
Sites are designated as Ramsar sites when they meet one or more of nine criteria grouped into three categories: (i) representative, rare, or unique wetland types; (ii) biodiversity-based criteria for species and ecological communities; (iii) waterbird-specific criteria (e.g., regularly supporting 20,000 or more waterbirds).
Shekha Jheel meets criteria under the biodiversity category — notably for hosting 249 bird species including 62 wetland-dependent species — and for its role as a critical node on the Central Asian Flyway.
The Ramsar List (globally) now includes over 2,400 sites covering more than 254 million hectares.

Connection to this news: Shekha Jheel's designation reflects India's sustained engagement with the Ramsar framework — 99 sites and counting — and illustrates how even relatively small urban-fringe wetlands can qualify for international protection based on biodiversity richness.

Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017

India's domestic legal framework for wetland protection is primarily governed by the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. These rules superseded the earlier 2010 Rules and decentralised wetland governance to the state level.

Under the 2017 Rules, States and Union Territories are responsible for identifying, notifying, and managing wetlands of significance, with oversight from a National Wetland Committee (NWC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The Rules define wetlands to include marshes, fens, peatlands, and water bodies (natural or artificial, permanent or temporary) where water depth at low tide does not exceed six metres — but explicitly exclude river channels, paddy fields, and areas used for commercial aquaculture.
Activities prohibited in wetlands under the Rules include reclamation for non-wetland uses, setting up of industries, and solid waste dumping.
India maintains the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) database, cataloguing approximately 7.57 lakh wetlands covering ~4.63% of India's geographic area.

Connection to this news: Shekha Jheel's Ramsar designation triggers enhanced national attention under the 2017 Rules framework, including requirement for an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) and periodic monitoring of its ecological character — providing stronger domestic legal standing alongside the international recognition.

Central Asian Flyway and Migratory Bird Conservation

The Central Asian Flyway (CAF) is one of the world's major bird migration routes, stretching from the Arctic and Central Asian breeding grounds to South Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Maldives, and the coasts of East Africa. It is one of eight global flyways under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

The CAF covers approximately 30 countries and is used by an estimated 600 species of migratory waterbirds and shorebirds, including numerous threatened species.
India occupies a central position on the CAF, with wetlands along the IGP corridor — from Kashmir through Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — serving as critical winter staging areas for birds arriving from Central Asia, Siberia, and the Himalayas.
Key species using Shekha Jheel include the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), and various species of ducks from the genera Anas and Aythya.
India participates in the UNEP/AEWA (Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds) framework and has adopted a National Action Plan for conservation of migratory birds along the CAF.

Connection to this news: Shekha Jheel's location on the Central Asian Flyway is a primary ecological justification for its Ramsar designation. Its role as a winter staging ground makes its protection a matter of international significance — not just a local conservation concern.

Protected Area Network in India: Bird Sanctuaries

India's protected area (PA) network is governed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA 1972), which provides for five categories of protected areas: National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves, Community Reserves, and Tiger Reserves.

Bird Sanctuaries are a sub-category of Wildlife Sanctuaries under WPA 1972. Unlike National Parks, sanctuaries allow limited human activity and entry with permission.
Section 18 of WPA 1972 empowers state governments to declare wildlife sanctuaries; Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary was declared under this provision by the Uttar Pradesh government.
India has approximately 550+ Wildlife Sanctuaries across the country, but only a subset of ecologically significant ones receive Ramsar designation in addition to domestic PA status.
The combination of WPA 1972 sanctuary status and Ramsar designation provides a two-tier legal protection: domestic prohibition on hunting and habitat destruction, plus international scrutiny of ecological character change.

Connection to this news: Shekha Jheel's dual status — Bird Sanctuary under WPA 1972 and now a Ramsar site — exemplifies the complementary protection that domestic and international frameworks can provide for small but ecologically critical wetland habitats.

Key Facts & Data

Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary is located in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh, approximately 17 km east of Aligarh city.
Area of the sanctuary: 25 hectares (approximately 62 acres).
Total bird species recorded: 249, including 62 wetland-dependent species.
Notable migratory species: Bar-headed Goose, Painted Stork, various ducks — all arriving along the Central Asian Flyway.
Shekha Jheel is India's 99th Ramsar site and Uttar Pradesh's 12th Ramsar site.
India acceded to the Ramsar Convention in 1982.
The Ramsar Convention was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and entered into force in 1975.
A site qualifies as a Ramsar site by meeting one or more of nine criteria; biodiversity and waterbird criteria are most commonly applicable in India.
India's wetlands collectively cover approximately 4.63% of the country's geographic area, with ~7.57 lakh wetlands catalogued nationally.
Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 provide the primary domestic regulatory framework; they are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Globally, over 2,400 Ramsar sites covering more than 254 million hectares are now designated.