Wetlands are knowns as "the kidneys of the earth" as they filter the water flowing into it by trapping suspended particles, absorbing pollutants like carbon dioxide and nitrogen and releasing clean water to a landscape. The World Wetlands Day on February 2 is a reminder to world leaders and global communities that conservation and restoration of every single wetland are crucial to prevent failure of the earth's kidney. The degradation of the ecosystem of Deepor Beel, a permanent freshwater lake on the outskirts of Guwahati paints a grim picture of poor awareness of the authorities concerned and communities about the importance of conservation of the wetland. Ironically, the boundary of the wetland has not yet been demarcated which has also jeopardised its conservation. It is also a unique wildlife habitat and sustains the population of resident birds apart from being a prime destination of migratory birds. The laying of a railway line led to fragmentation of the wetland landscape while encroachment has resulted in shrinkage of the hydrological area. Siltation induced by rampant earth cutting in adjacent hills has reduced the storage capacity of Deepor Beel affecting its filtering capacity. Dumping of municipal solid waste at Boragaon near one corner of the wetland by Guwahati Municipal Corporation is the most glaring example of apathy of the government authorities towards its conservation. It required the intervention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) as the Environment and Forest Department looked the other way when GMC authorities continued dumping hundreds of tonnes of untreated city waste. Even as six years have elapsed since the Assam Government submitted to the NGT about the steps initiated to shift the dumping site, heaps of garbage have only grown bigger. Rainwater runoff and toxic gases emitted from the dumping site due to the burning of the wastes have only posed great threats of polluting the Deepor Beel ecosystem. The GMC expediting the setting up Solid Waste Management Plan and a robust system of segregating wastes at a household level like Indore city has become an urgent necessity to demonstrate its commitment to the conservation of the only Ramsar site in Assam. In 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a set of guidelines to State Governments and Union Territories for implementation of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The guidelines envisage States preparing a comprehensive list of wetlands based on the definition of the Ramsar Convention. The Convention, ratified by the Government of India, defines wetlands as 'areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which, at low tides, does not exceed six metres. In addition, to protect coherent sites, Article 2.1 of the Convention provides that 'wetlands may include riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands' the guidelines clarified. It emphasizes that management of notified wetlands is to be based on a 'wise use' approach adding that human beings and their use of resources form an essential component of wetland ecosystem dynamics. "The 'wise use' approach recognises that restricting wetland loss and degradation requires the incorporation of linkages between people and wetlands. The wise use principle emphasizes that human use of these ecosystems on a sustainable basis is compatible with conservation." The Ramsar Convention defines the 'wise use of wetlands as "the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development," it mentions. The guidelines clarify that a wetland use is not 'wise-use' if the intervention leads to adverse changes in ecosystem components and processes, such as reduction in water flowing into the wetlands, reduction in the area under inundation, or changes in inundation regime, reduction and alteration of natural shoreline, fragmentation of wetlands into small patches of water, reduction in water holding capacity, degradation of water quality, reduction in the diversity of native species, introduction or emergence of invasive species and decline in wetlands resources, such as fish, aquatic plants, and water. The guideline includes a comprehensive recommendation to State Governments/UTs for drawing up action plans for the development and implementation of an integrated management plan for each wetland. It also insists that ecosystem-based interventions should be promoted as far as possible and engineering interventions in wetlands should be taken up in a limited manner, with impact assessments conducted for all major works. Key activities outlined in the document for management of wetland are boundary delineation and demarcation, catchment conservation, water management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource development and livelihood improvement. It is hoped that Deepor Beel will draw the attention of all stakeholders to act fast and initiate steps not just for the conservation of this wetland of global importance but also for every wetland in the state.