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Rajasthan forest dept wants to convert Sambhar Lake area into protected reserve

Ramsar sites are those which have been granted the status by the Ramsar Convention, an inter-governmental accord signed in February 1971 to preserve the ecological character of wetlands of international importance in the signatory countries.

Rajasthan forest dept wants to convert Sambhar Lake area into protected reserve Falling within the limits of three districts of Rajasthan – Jaipur, Ajmer and Nagaur, Sambhar Lake is spread over 195 square kilometres.

After around 22,000 migratory birds died due to Avian Botulism infection at Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan in November 2019, the Rajasthan state forest department wants to convert the lake area, which is revenue area, into protected Conservation Reserve to preempt such large scale deaths of the migratory species and for the better upkeep of the water body.

A senior forest officer said this Thursday at a panel discussion on the recent deaths of the migratory birds in the lake which is one of the Ramsar sites of India. Ramsar sites are those which have been granted the status by the Ramsar Convention, an inter-governmental accord signed in February 1971 to preserve the ecological character of wetlands of international importance in the signatory countries.

The discussion —Rehabilitation of Migratory Wetland Birds Affected by Avian Botulism in Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan — was held on the sidelines of 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar. It was jointly organised by Wildlife Trust of India, Rajasthan Forest Department and three voluntary organisations.

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Conservator of Forest, Jaipur, SRV Murthy, represented the Rajasthan Forest Department at the panel discussion.

On action that can be taken to preserve the area in a better way and prevent such happenings, Murthy said, “The area does not fall under the Forest Department. The land belongs to the revenue department. We are convinced that it should be made a conservation reserve.”

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He added that the lake is an important centre of salt production and is also a tourist spot.

Murthy said that the Chief of the Forest Staff of Rajasthan has spoken to the top authorities of the state to make the Lake a conservation reserve. “It is a decision that has to come from the highest level of the state government,” he said.

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Falling within the limits of three districts of Rajasthan – Jaipur, Ajmer and Nagaur, Sambhar Lake is spread over 195 square kilometres.

According to Murthy, if the lake is converted into a Conservation Reserve, it can be protected better and once it comes under the protection of Forest Department, any development can be identified immediately and its spread can be checked promptly.

An official of GEER Foundation of Gujarat asked the panelists about action that can be taken to prevent such tragedies in other parts of the country. To this, one of the panelists and senior veterinarian, NVK Ashraf, said that the spread of Avian Botulism cannot be predicted and other states can only learn from the rescue and rehabilitation efforts undertaken at Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.

Another panelist Joy Gardner who was part of the rescue and rehabilitation operations at Sambhar Lake said that the outbreak can be checked only by being vigilant and taking timely action if any suspicious death of birds in a water body is noticed.

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Rohit Gangwal, a panelist who was part of the rehabilitation of the rescued migratory birds at the Sambhar Lake, said that the rehabilitation of the rescued birds was a huge task, which cost around Rs 20 lakh.

“One of the major tasks in this operation was finding food for these rescued migratory birds as they eat only worms. We had a tough time finding food for so many birds,” Gangwal said.

First uploaded on: 21-02-2020 at 10:46 IST
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