Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal: These 3 ramsar sites are newly added to Punjab. Apart from these 3 sites, Punjab already has 3 ramsar sites. Thus the total ramsar sites in the states counts to 6.

Ramsar convention

i.It is the convention on wetlands formed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in February 2, 1971 and came into force in 1975. The convention is named after Ramsar city of Iran where it was signed.
ii.This convention is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords signed by members countries to preserve the ecology of the wetlands. Those wetlands which are declared as Ramsar sites are protected by the strict guidelines as per the convention.
iii.Convention Aim: Through the convention it is aimed to maintain an international network of wetlands for conserving the biological diversity.

Wetlands

i.A wetland is a distinct ecosystem flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally. Oxygen-free processes prevail in wetlands.
ii.They provide a wide range of resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
• Wetlands play a number of functions, including water purification, water storage, processing of carbon.

Environment ministry action plan

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) has prepared a 4 pronged strategy to restore wetlands. The strategy includes preparing baseline data, wetland health cards, preparing targeted Integrated Management Plans etc.

The ministry will work closely with State Wetland Authorities to ensure wise use of Ramsar sites.

The Beas Conservation Reserve is a 185-kilometre stretch of the Beas River located primarily in the north-west of the State of Punjab.The River meanders down from the Himalayan foothills to the Harike Headworks, where its course is diverted into a number of channels. The River is dotted with islands, sand bars and braided channels creating a complex environment supporting substantial biodiversity.More than 500 species of birds are documented along this stretch, along with more than 90 fish species. The Reserve also hosts the only known population in India of the endangered Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor). Further threatened species include the endangered masheer (Tor putitora) and hog deer (Axis porcinus) as well as the vulnerable smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata). In 2017, a programme was initiated to re-introduce the critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) with 47 individuals released into the River 30 years after their disappearance. Major threats include urban and domestic pollution as well as impacts of agriculture along most of the River’s course.

Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve is a dynamic freshwater ecosystem in the district of Gurdaspur, Punjab. It is the first-ever notified community reserve of India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (amended 2002). This community reserve is situated at an altitude of 245-250m. The reserve comprises freshwater marshes (natural wetlands) that cover an area of 340ha and is an important waterfowl habitat and migratory bird corridor during the winter season.

Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary :- Located in the Shiwalik foothills of Punjab is the highly eco-sensitive Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary, which supports abundant flora and fauna including threatened species, such as the endangered Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and the vulnerable leopard (Panthera pardus). It occupies a human-made reservoir constructed as part of the Bhakra-Nangal Project in 1961. The site is of historic importance as the Indian and Chinese Prime Ministers formalized the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” there in 1954. More than half a million people downstream benefit from the reservoir as the flow of water is regulated, reducing the risks to both people and property from floods.

Kanjli Wetland:- which subsumes the Kanjli Lake, is located on the Bein rivulet in the Kapurthala district of Punjab. Kanjli Wetland is a man made Wetland which was created in 1870 by constructing the headworks across the perennial Bien River, a tributary of the Beas River to provide irrigation facilities to the hinterland.In 2002, it was recognized by the Ramsar Convention in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. The Kanjli Wetland’s water-spread area boasts 92 species of birds besides various kinds of mammals, amphibians and fish. The wetland also draws sacred value from the sanctity accorded to the Bein rivulet – in which Guru Nanak Dev attained enlightenment. 

Harike Wetland also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan", with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India in the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district  of the Punjab state in India.The wetland and the lake were formed by constructing the headworks across the Sutlej river in 1953. The headworks is located downstream of the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers just south of Harike village. The rich biodiversity of the wetland which plays a vital role in maintaining the precious hydrological balance in the catchment with its vast concentration of migratory fauna of waterfowls including a number of globally threatened species (stated to be next only to the Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur) has been responsible for the recognition accorded to this wetland in 1990, by the Ramsar Convention, as one of the Ramasar sites in India, for conservation, development and preservation of the ecosystem.

Ropar Wetland, also named Ropar Lake, is a man-made freshwater riverine and lacustrine wetland.This important ecological zone is located in the Shivalik foothills of the Lower Himalayas and was created in 1952 on the Sutlej River, in the Punjab state of India, by building a head regulator to store and divert water for beneficial uses of irrigation, drinking and industrial water supply. The wetland once was a popular tourist attraction for bird watching and boating. A tourism complex called the ‘Pinccasia’ was located within the wetland boundary, which was run by the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation.