The Wetland Rules, 2010, were notified under the United Progressive Alliance to identify and conserve wetlands and ensure that they are not degraded. The Rules provided a much needed legal framework for protecting wetlands. Marshes, peatlands, man-made reservoirs, tanks, lakes, inter-tidal areas all qualify as wetlands. They are a rich habitat for birds, aquatic life and also provide food, drinking water and livelihood to farmers and fishermen.

The notification prohibits reclamation, setting up of new industries, dumping of solid waste, discharge of trade effluents and untreated sewage. Despite the rules, wetlands have faced immense destruction in the form of illegal constructions, dumping and land grabbing.

The draft guidelines, ministry officials said, will be in sync with the original Rules and aim to give states a clear roadmap to protect wetlands along with resources, provided they fulfill certain conditions. "Land is a state subject and a lot of onus of wetland protection is on the states. But, the response of state governments has not been up to the mark and they have to realize the immense importance of these habitats," said Shashi Shekhar, special secretary, MoEF&CC.

The absence of state level wetland protection authorities is one of the chief reasons the ministry has prepared the fresh draft guidelines. Under the wetland rules, state governments were asked to create a 'brief document' to identify and classify wetlands a year after the notification came into effect and also create state-level authorities to protect wetlands. Odisha is the only state to have prepared a brief document in the country, ministry officials said.

The draft guidelines will ask state governments to involve irrigation, water and fisheries departments to conserve wetlands, especially inland ones. "With the help of these guidelines, the ministry will hand hold states on conservation of wetlands. As of now, what happens is, the states approaches centre for funding but once they obtain it the protection has not been satisfactory," added Shekhar.

Like it has been seen for pollution control projects, the MoEF&CC is keen on attracting private investment to conserving wetlands. "We will encourage states to form wetland protection authorities as socities in order to attract private investments," said Shashi Shekhar.

This year, the ministry has set aside Rs.50 crore for wetland protection and this includes Ramsar sites that are ecologically some of the most important wetlands globally. Ramsar sites are named after the an international treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 for global protection of wetlands.

Bhitarkanika mangroves in Odisha, East Kolkata wetlands, Ropar in Punjab and Vembanad-Kol wetland in Kerala are some of Ramsar sites in India.

Environmentalists said that the new guidelines need to identify rivers as wetlands, that have been excluded from the 2010 Rules. "Ramsar convention qualifies rivers as wetlands, but our Rules had omitted them. States do not have specific legislations for river conservation and which is much needed. Even the Ramsar sites in our country have been encroached upon our survey had found out," said Himanshu Thakkar, co-ordinator, South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People.