CASE STUDY #18
Chilika Lake – from Montreaux record to Ramsar Conservation Award
Lake Chilika spanning between 906 – 1,165 km2 is the largest coastal lagoon on the east coast of India. It is a hotspot of bio- diversity and harbours several endangered and endemic spe- cies including those listed under the Red List. Over one million migratory birds commonly winter here. It is also one of only two lagoons in the world that support Irrawaddy Dolphin popula- tions. The diverse and dynamic assemblage of fish, invertebrate and crustacean species found within Chilika provide the basis of a rich fishery which supports over 200,000 local fisherfolk and generates over 6% of the state’s foreign revenue.
Chilika underwent rapid degradation during 1950 – 2000 owing to increasing sediment loads from degrading catchments and reduced connectivity with the sea. As salinity declined, the lake fisheries went down by over 80% during 1985–2000, along with an increase in area under invasive weeds and shrinkage in area and volume of the lake. This had tremendous impact on the liveli- hood of communities, especially fishers who depended on lake for sustenance. The lake was put under Montreaux Record of the Convention in 1993. Realizing the problems of Chilika Lake, Government of Orissa created the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) in 1992 for restoration of the ecosystem. CDA undertook several measures for lake remediation including catchment area treatment, hydrobiological monitoring sustainable development
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of fisheries, wildlife conservation, ecotourism development, com- munity participation and development and capacity building at various levels. In 2000, CDA in partnership with Wetlands Inter- national and a network of organizations carried a major hydro- logical intervention by opening a new mouth to the Bay of Bengal which helped improve salinity levels, enhanced fish landing, de- crease of invasive species and overall improvement of the lake water quality. The initiative rejuvenated the lake ecosystem and improved livelihoods of communities dependant on its resources for sustenance. Based on the restoration measures undertaken, the Government of India requested the Ramsar Convention Bu- reau to consider removal of Chilika Lake from the Montreaux Re- cord. The lake was finally removed from the Montreaux Record in 2001 and the restoration recognized with a Ramsar Award to the CDA in 2002. As per assessments in 2009–10, lake fisheries stood at 11,955 MT. Additionally, 158 dolphins were counted and over 0.9 million waterbirds used the lake as habitat.
CDA and WISA are currently designing an integrated plan to en- sure effective management practices for the lake conservation and providing economic incentives to stakeholders through coor- dinated actions at river basin level integrating coastal processes.
Source: Wetlands International, Personal communication, 2010
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