A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands and wise sustainable use of their resources. Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, rare or unique wetland types or for their importance in conserving biological diversity, especially those providing waterfowl habitat.

Pallikaranai is one of the 94 wetlands identified under National Wetland Conservation And Management Programme (NWCMP) of the Government of India and is also one of the Fourteenth in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the prioritized wetlands of Tamil Nadu. The Convention on Wetlands, (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) has declared Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest as a Wetland of International Importance on 08.04.2022. It has been included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance established by article 2.1 of the Convention. This is site No. 2481 in the list of Wetlands of International Importance