Chilika Lake
- Country:India
- Site number:229
- Area:116,500 ha
- Designation date:01-10-1981
- Coordinates:19°42'N 85°21'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Overview
Chilika Lake. 01/10/81; Orissa; 116,500 ha; 19°42'N 085°21'E. Added to the Montreux Record, 16 June 1993; removed from the Record, 11 November 2002. Brackish lake separated from the Bay of Bengal by a long sandy ridge and subject to sea water exchange, resulting in extreme seasonal fluctuations in salinity in different sections of the lake. Saline areas support aquatic algae. The site is an important area for breeding, wintering and staging for 33 species of waterbirds. It also supports 118 species of fish, including commercially important species. Significant numbers of people are dependent upon the lake's resources. Placed on the Montreux Record in 1993 due to problems caused by siltation and sedimentation which was choking the mouth of the lake; removed from the Record in 2002 following rehabilitation efforts for which the Chilika Development Authority received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award for 2002. Subject of a Ramsar Advisory Mission, 2001. Ramsar site no. 229.
Administrative region:
Orissa State
- National legal designation:
- Sanctuary
- Last publication date:01-10-1981