Chilika Lake is the home of Biodiversity, Odisha

-By Vaibhav Verma

Chilika lake situated in the hearth of coastal Odisha. Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon
lake in the world after the New Caledonian barrier reef and the largest coastal lagoon lake in India. It
spanning a surface area of about 1100 sq. kilometer. The Chilika lake is 64 kilometre long in north-
south direction and 13.5 km wide in the east-west direction. It spread over the Puri, Khurda and
Ganjam districts of Odisha. It located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

Chilika lake is a shallow bar-build estuary with large

areas of mudflats. The western and southern margins
of the lake are fringed by the Eastern Ghats hill range.
The river Mahanadi and its tributaries carried a heavy
load of silt and dumped part of its delta as the
sediment-laden river met the Bay of Bengal, sand bars
were formed hears its mouth there created a backflow
of the seawater into the sluggish fresh water at the
estuary, resulting in the huge brackish water lake. The

Map of Chilika Lake lake flows out into the Bay of Bengal from two mouths
one is situated at Arakhakuda a small village, and the
other at Satapada, another village. The proportions of Chilika lake change seasonally, where it is
about 0.3 meters in depth at minimum during the dry summers, and goes to about 4.2 meters during
the rainy season. The lagoon itself can be broadly divided into four ecological sectors based on
salinity and depth the southern zone, central zone, northern zone and the outer channel.

The Chilika lake was the first wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention of
1981.Chilika lake is recognized as one of the most important wetlands in the world because it is a
home to a phenomenal variety of birds. Chilka lake was
the first Indian site to be placed on Montreux Record in
1993 due to change its ecological character, caused by
siltation and sedimentation which was choking the
mouth of the lake. In 2002, Chilika lake was take out of
the Montreux record, in light of the improved conditions
of the lake. A 60-km (37 miles)-long barrier beach called
Rajhansa, formed by northerly currents in the Bay of
Bengal. The lake has numerous islands. The larger
islands, separated by shallow channels lie between the Chilika Lake
barrier and the main body of the lake. The six major islands are Parikud, Phulbari, Berahpura,
Nuapara, Nalbana and Tampara. Nalbana island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands
of Chilika lake . Nalbana means a weed covered islands in the Odia language. It is a major island in
the centre of the lake and covered an area of 15.53km (600 sq mi). The island completely submerged
during the monsoon season. Nalbana was notified in 1987 declared a bird sanctuary in 1973 under
the wildlife protection act.
 Chilika lake is one of the hotspot of biodiversity in the
country. The lagoon hosts over 160 species of birds in the
peak migratory season. Birds from as far as the Caspian
Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other remote parts of
Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Kazakhstan, Central and
southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here. These
birds travel great distances; some of them possibly travel
as much as 12,000 km to reach Chilika Lake. The rare and
Greater Flamingo birds in Chilika Lake threatened species identified are Green sea turtle,
Dugong, Irrawaddy Dolphins, Black buck, Spoon billed
Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, White Bellied Sea Eagle, Chilika a limbless skink, and fishing cat. The
famous Flamingo bird are also found in Chilika lake. Microalgae, marine seaweeds, sea grasses,
fishes and crabs also flourish in the brackish water of the Chilika lagoon. Some of the rare,
vulnerable and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red list of threatened animals inhabit in the
lagoon for atleast part of their lifecycle. A survey of fauna of Chilika carried out by the Zoological
survey of India in 1985 in which 187 recorded over 800 species in and around the lagoon. The Flora
contains 399 species of Phytoplankton, 22 species of Algal communities, 720 species of Vascular
plants. The Fauna contains 267 species of Fishes, 61 species of Protozoa, 29 species of
Platyhelminthes, 37 species of Nematodes, 31 species of Polychaetes, 136 species of Mollusca, 28
species of Crustaceans, 35 species of Pleopods, 37 species of Amphibians and Reptiles, 225
species of Birds and 18 species of Mammals. It was found that while high tides near the inlet
drive in salt water through the channel during summer, freshwater dominates during active
monsoon period.