{"id":28922,"date":"2026-08-31T17:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=28922"},"modified":"2026-08-31T17:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:23:21","slug":"amrit-dharohar-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/amrit-dharohar-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Amrit Dharohar Scheme 2023, Objectives, Components, UPSC Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Amrit Dharohar Scheme<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a wetland conservation and nature-tourism initiative focused on the sustainable use and conservation of Ramsar Sites. It integrates species and habitat conservation through local participation. The scheme promotes biodiversity conservation while encouraging replication of successful conservation practices.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a site-based initiative, it involves government institutions as well as local communities. Its implementation faces challenges related to tourism-conservation balance, institutional coordination, scientific monitoring, livelihood viability, and resource mobilisation<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme 2023 About<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Amrit Dharohar Scheme is a government initiative launched in June 2023 to promote the conservation and sustainable use of India's vital wetland ecosystems, specifically focusing on Ramsar sites.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Amrit Dharohar Scheme Launch Date:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 under the \"Green Growth\" priority and launched by Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/narendra-modi\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Narendra Modi<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Implementing Ministries: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A collaborative effort by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC) and the Ministry of Tourism.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Duration: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implemented over a period of three years (2023 onwards).<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ramsar Sites<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><b>A Ramsar Site <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is a wetland of international importance designated under the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ramsar-convention-on-wetlands\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Ramsar Convention<\/strong><\/a>, an intergovernmental treaty adopted in 1971 for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Wetlands may be natural or artificial and include lakes, rivers, estuaries, mangroves and other wetland ecosystems important for biodiversity and ecological functions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme Objectives<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Amrit Dharohar Scheme <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">aims to conserve and sustainably use Ramsar Sites while integrating biodiversity conservation, nature tourism, livelihoods and climate action. Its key objectives include:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Species and Habitat Conservation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Safeguard biodiversity and habitats of species of local, national and international conservation significance.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Wetland Conservation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Promote optimal and wise use of wetlands while maintaining their ecological character.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Nature Tourism:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Promote sustainable, high-value nature tourism that supports conservation and local economies.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Livelihood Generation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Create employment and diversify livelihood opportunities for wetland-dependent communities.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Community Participation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Encourage local communities and citizens to participate in wetland conservation through initiatives such as the <\/span><b>Wetland Mitra Network<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Carbon Conservation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Conserve and enhance wetland carbon stocks and support climate-change mitigation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Monitoring &amp; Replication:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Strengthen biodiversity inventories, <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/ecosystem\/\" target=\"_blank\">ecosystem<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">-health monitoring and management effectiveness while developing conservation practices for replication.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme Components<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">implementation strategy of the Amrit Dharohar Scheme is organised around four major components covering biodiversity, tourism, livelihoods and wetland carbon.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Species and Habitat Conservation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Integrated management plans, biodiversity inventories, hydrological monitoring and management-effectiveness assessment.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Floral and faunal inventories of 75 Ramsar Sites were developed by the BSI and ZSI, respectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Nature Tourism: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Carrying-capacity-based tourism planning, interpretation centres, tourism infrastructure and training of local nature and culture guides.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b> <b>196 local community members from five Ramsar Sites<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> were trained and certified as nature guides during November 2023\u2013January 2024 through MoEFCC\u2013Ministry of Tourism collaboration.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Wetlands Livelihoods:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Skill development, alternative livelihoods, employment opportunities and micro-enterprise development for local communities.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Wetlands Carbon:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> GHG inventories, carbon baselines, wetland restoration, rewetting and enhancement of natural vegetation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme Implementation<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><b>Amrit Dharohar Scheme<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is primarily a site-based initiative rather than a conventional individual-benefit scheme with fixed eligibility criteria. It follows a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, involving government institutions, local communities, knowledge partners and citizens.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Ramsar Sites:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Serve as model or anchor sites for their respective States\/UTs and for replication across other wetlands.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>State &amp; District Institutions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> State Wetland Authorities, District Administrations, Municipal Corporations and Gram Panchayats participate in implementation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Wetland Mitras:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Citizens participate through the voluntary network supporting wetland conservation and management.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Save Wetlands Campaign engaged 7,66,938 Wetland Mitras\/pledge participants against a target of 20,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Community Institutions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Biodiversity Management Committees contribute to the conservation and updating of People's Biodiversity Registers.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> More than 600 PBRs around Ramsar Sites were updated under Amrit Dharohar.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Knowledge Partners:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Research and knowledge institutions provide technical and scientific support.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Convergence:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Implementation involves collaboration with ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Education, and the National Museum of Natural History.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme Significance<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Amrit Dharohar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is significant for integrating wetland conservation with sustainable development, community livelihoods, nature tourism and climate action. It provides a framework for maintaining the ecological, economic and cultural values of Ramsar Sites.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Wetland Conservation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Promotes wise and sustainable use while maintaining the ecological character and ecosystem services of Ramsar Sites.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Biodiversity Protection:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Strengthens conservation through biodiversity inventories and community-based documentation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Sustainable Nature Tourism:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Harnesses the tourism potential of Ramsar Sites while supporting conservation and local economies.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Livelihood Generation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Promotes alternative livelihoods, skill development and nature-guide opportunities for wetland-dependent communities.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Community Participation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Strengthens citizen involvement through Wetland Mitras, BMCs and local institutions.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Scientific Management:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Improves wetland knowledge through inventories, health assessments and management planning.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Save Wetlands Campaign completed ground-truthing of 77,087 wetlands and prepared 6,248 wetland health cards.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Awareness &amp; Replication:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Creates public awareness and develops Ramsar Sites as models for conservation practices that can be replicated elsewhere.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> More than 6,400 awareness and engagement events were conducted during the Save Wetlands Campaign.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme Challenges<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Amrit Dharohar\u00a0 Scheme\u2019s<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> broad objectives require coordination across multiple institutions and balancing conservation with tourism, livelihoods and development. Key challenges include:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Conservation\u2013Tourism Trade-off:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Expanding tourism infrastructure without adversely affecting the ecological character of fragile Ramsar Sites.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Institutional Coordination:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Ensuring effective convergence among Central ministries, State\/UT authorities, district bodies, local institutions and knowledge partners.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Integrated Management:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Developing effective management plans requires institutional capacity, scientific expertise and continuous monitoring.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Community Participation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Sustaining meaningful participation and ensuring conservation-linked livelihood benefits reach local communities.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Livelihood Viability:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Creating sustainable employment requires appropriate skills, training, market linkages and support for micro-enterprises.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Scientific Monitoring:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Maintaining reliable <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/biodiversity\/\" target=\"_blank\">biodiversity<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, hydrological, water-quality and ecosystem-health data requires technical capacity.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Resource Mobilisation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Convergence with multiple Central and State schemes and partnerships requires effective coordination and timely resource mobilisation.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Save Wetlands Campaign engaged 7,66,938 Wetland Mitras\/pledge participants against a target of 20,000, highlighting the scale of public participation and the need to translate awareness into sustained conservation action.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amrit Dharohar Scheme UPSC PYQs<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Q1:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Consider the following pairs: <\/span><b>(UPSC Prelims 2022)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n<p><b>Wetland \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Lake Location\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hokera Wetland\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Punjab\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Renuka Wetland\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Himachal Pradesh\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Rudrasagar Lake\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Tripura\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Sasthamkotta Lake\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Tamil Nadu\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How many pairs given above are correctly matched?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(a) Only one pair\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(b) Only two pairs\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(c) Only three pairs\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(d) All four pairs<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><b>Ans: (b)<\/b><\/p>\r\n<p><b>Q2:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If a wetland of international importance is brought under the \u2018Montreux Record\u2019, what does it imply?<\/span><b> (UPSC Prelims 2014)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a) Changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur in the wetland as a result of human interference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">b) The country in which the wetland is located should enact a law to prohibit any human activity within five kilometres of the edge of the wetland.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">c) The survival of the wetland depends on the cultural practices and traditions of certain communities living in its vicinity, and therefore, the cultural diversity therein should not be destroyed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">d) It is given the status of \u2018World Heritage\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><b>Ans: (a)<\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amrit Dharohar is a wetland conservation and ecotourism scheme promoting sustainable wetland management. Check more about the Amrit Dharohar Scheme, objectives &#038; components.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":28948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,33],"tags":[1959,40,654],"class_list":["post-28922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-notes","category-upsc-environment-ecology-notes","tag-amrit-dharohar-scheme","tag-quest","tag-upsc-environment-and-ecology-notes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28922"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28975,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28922\/revisions\/28975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}