Two more wetlands, the Patna Bird Sanctuary in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh and Chhari-Dhand in Gujarat's Kutch district, have been designated Ramsar sites, taking India's total to 98. India joined the Ramsar Convention, adopted in Iran in 1971, on 1 February 1982. Tamil Nadu has the largest number of Ramsar sites (20), while Gujarat holds the biggest wetland area, over 20% of the national total. World Wetlands Day, observed on 2 February, had the 2026 theme 'Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage'.