India pushing for the designation of 26 more wetlands as Ramsar sites is a laudable move for the conservation of wetlands in the country. If the Convention on Wetland agrees to the proposal by the Government of India, it will increase the number of Ramsar sites in the country to 75 coinciding with the 75th year of Independence of the country. Apart from declaring more wetlands as Ramsar Sites, urgent actions are needed for the conservation of the existing wetlands with the tag like Deepor Beel in the city. India currently has 49 wetlands with Ramsar site tag of which two are located in the Northeast, the second being the Loktak lake in Manipur. According to the Ramsar convention, any wetland which meets one of the criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance can be designated by the appropriate national authority to be added to the Ramsar list. The topmost among nine criteria is- "a wetland should be considered internationally important if it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region." Other criteria are based on species and ecological communities, water birds, fish and taxa. In 2015, the Convention on Wetland adopted the Fourth Strategic Plan for the period 2016-2024 around the key concept of "wise use of wetlands." The plan defines "Wise use of wetlands" as "the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development." A priority focus of the strategic plan is preventing, stopping and reversing the degradation of wetlands but environment activists voicing concern over the degradation of the Deepor Beel ecosystem speak volumes about the issue not getting due attention of the government. Fragmentation of the Deepor Beel ecosystem and dumping of municipal solid wastes of Guwahati in one corner of the wetland have posed grave conservation threats to the freshwater lake spread over 40 square km areas on the outskirts of the capital city. The boundary of the lone Ramsar site is yet to be demarcated even though it got the tag nearly 20 years ago. The "Save Deepor Beel" campaign launched by nature lovers and environment activists has triggered hopes as it also points towards growing awareness in the community about the importance of conservation of the lone Ramsar site. The successful campaign for conservation of the Deepor Beel ecosystem will go long way in building awareness among the masses about the conservation of all other wetlands in the state which are known as "the kidneys of earth." Awareness on the part of the authorities concerned is equally important for these people's campaigns to yield desired results. The fact that it required the intervention by the National Green Tribunal to tell the authorities to take immediate measures such as shifting the dumping site away from the Deepor Beel ecosystem is reflective of the casual approach of the authorities towards the conservation of the lake over the past two decades which needs to be rectified. Expeditious settlement to the issue of realignment of the railway track that passes through Deepor Beel and freeing the elephant corridor from obstruction are critical to addressing long-term conservation needs such as preventing elephants from getting killed or injured due to train-hit. The Assam government's proposal for the realignment of the railway track outside the wetland area can go a long way in the conservation of the elephant corridor provided the Northeast Frontier Railway authorities accept it. The tradeoff between long-term benefits of conservation of the freshwater lake and its ecosystem in the catchment towards mitigation of climate change impact and expenditures involved in the realignment of the track during the short-term should guide the policymakers to vote for realignment of the track. The State Forest Department insists that Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary forming part of the wetland and integrated management of the entire ecosystem is a must to protect the Ramsar site from degradation and meet long-term goals of conservation. The Strategic Plan emphasizes that the wise use of wetlands and their resources will ultimately involve a range of actors well beyond those responsible for the management and maintenance of Ramsar Sites and other wetlands at local, national, regional and global levels where existing partnerships with Ramsar Regional Initiatives, should be strengthened and new partnerships with civil society and the business sector forged to enhance Convention implementation and reverse the rates of loss and degradation of wetlands. "Influencing the drivers of wetland degradation and loss and the integration of the role of wetland values (monetary and nonmonetary) into planning and decision-making requires the development of a methodology that enables wetland resources and ecosystem benefits to be assessed so that the multiple environmental functions and benefits are understood widely within societies," states the nine-year-long plan with only two years left. Conservation of Ramsar sites like Deepor Beel is possible only through the concerted efforts of all stakeholders.