Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in Sant Kabir Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, comprises largely of a shallow river connecting freshwater marshes and is located to the west of Rapti river. Famed as the largest natural floodplain wetland of eastern Uttar Pradesh, the wetland spans across an area of 2,894 ha. The terrain of the wetland is mostly flat with an average elevation of 100 meters above mean sea level, characteristic of a typical terai landscape. The major source of water is precipitation and inflows from Ami river which ensures a perennial source of water to this wetland, forming conducive habitats for myriad forms of plant and animal species. The presence of Phragmites sp., in patches within the wetland, makes it a unique habitat for migratory birds. Bakhira wetland provides a safe wintering and staging ground for a large number of migratory bird species of Central Asian Flyway, with prominent ones being red-crested pochard (Netta rufina), Northern pintail (Anas acuta) and Northern shoveller (Anas clypeata). Besides, the site also acts as a breeding ground for resident birds, such as swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and is a known congregation site of the vulnerable Sarus crane (Grus antigone). The wetland is also known to support at least 45 species of commercially important fish and 119 species of flora belonging to 42 families. Aquatic vegetation like Typha angustifolia, Phragmites karka, Vallisneria spiralis, Lemna minor and Potamogeton sp. provide staging and nesting sites to avian species.

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.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.

A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent nonavian animal species.