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Lake Chilika spanning between 906 – 1,165 km
2
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
Chilika Lake – fromMontreaux record to Ramsar Conservation Award
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
CASE STUDY #18