Arunachal Pradesh’s Glaw Lake is India’s 101st Ramsar site: Bhupender Yadav

Ramsar sites are recognised for their biodiversity, critical habitats for migratory birds, and ecological significance, such as carbon sequestration and flood control

Published on: Aug 3, 2026, 21:16:44 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok, NEW DELHI

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Arunachal Pradesh’s Glaw Lake has been designated as India’s 101st ‘Ramsar’ site, a wetland of International importance, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav announced on Monday.

Yadav said Glaw Lake was Arunachal Pradesh’s first Ramsar site and a significant milestone for biodiversity, water and climate security, and sustainable livelihoods (X/byadavbjp)

This is also the state’s first Ramsar site, he said.

Any wetland can designated to be of ‘International importance’ under the Ramsar Convention, an environmental treaty signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. These sites are recognised for their biodiversity, critical habitats for migratory birds, and ecological significance, such as carbon sequestration and flood control.

“Delighted to announce Glaw Lake as Arunachal Pradesh’s first Ramsar Site -- a significant milestone for biodiversity, water and climate security, and sustainable livelihoods,” the minister said in a post on X on Monday evening.

The lake lies within the Kamlang Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary and is freshwater lake in the Eastern Himalayas, which acts as a biodiversity hotspot.

“Fed by perennial mountain streams, it is surrounded by lush vegetation, with more than 150 tree species and 49 orchid species recorded within the site and its catchment,” Yadav added, stating under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the number of such sites in the country has grown from 26 in 2014 to 101 today.

“Every new Ramsar site strengthens our resolve to protect nature while securing the future of communities that depend on these invaluable ecosystems,” he added.

The government told the Lok Sabha in July that four new wetlands were in contention for being notified as Ramsar sites.

“The key reason for inclusion of these sites is the fulfillment of atleast one of the nine criteria of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Currently, proposals of four new wetlands namely, Glaw Lake (Arunachal Pradesh), Sukhna Wetland (Chandigarh), Gosabara-Mokarsagar Wetland Complex (Gujarat) and Sauj Jheel (Uttar Pradesh) have recently been submitted to the Ramsar Secretariat for their designation as Ramsar sites,” Yadav said in the reply last month.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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