On April 17, 1988, Nepal became a signatory to the Ramsar convention which highlighted Nepal’s commitment and promptness toward the conservation of wetlands. However, the wetlands had been neglected for a long even though they have specific social, economic, religious, and touristic significance. The occurrence of wetlands across diverse ecological zones in Nepal has made them vulnerable to a few common and region-specific threats.

The convention on wetlands “Ramsar Convention” held in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran was an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. The Koshi Tappu wetland is considered of international significance and was also added to the Ramsar list of wetlands of global importance on December 17, 1987. The Ramsar Bureau has designated and listed the nine Ramsar sites of Nepal including Himalayan lakes.