1000 Migratory Birds Dead At Sambhar lake Rajasthan – Free PDF Download

Sambhar Lake

• India’s largest inland salt lake.
• A large saline lake fed by four seasonal rivers.
• Shallow wetland
• Subject to seasonal fluctuations.
• The site is important for a variety of wintering waterbirds, including large numbers of flamingos.
• Human activities consist of salt production and livestock grazing.

 Ramsar site

• Sambhar Lake was given the status of a Ramsar Site in March 1990.
• It is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to migratory avifaunal population, especially flamingo and waterfowl.
• Current conservational threats owing to the drastic reduction in water spread and anthropogenic pressures are major concerns

What are RAMSAR Wetland Sites?

• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value

Why do birds visit Sambhar in Winter?

• Presence of salt-tolerant algae makes the lake one of the most important wintering areas for flamingos in country, after the Rann of Kachchh.
• The specialized algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide striking water colours and support the lake ecology that, in turn, sustains the migrating waterfowl.
• In 1982 –83, over 5 lakhs flamingos were counted in addition a large number of Pelicans.
• Reduced to about 1-2 lakh now .

The death of thousands of birds

• Detected on 11^th November 2019 by locals and tourists.
• More than two thousand birds of about 25 different species have died so far.
• Majority of the dead birds are migratory + some local species.

Causes (all speculative right now)

• A poisonous chemical has got dissolved in the lake
• The salinity of the lake has increased.
• Bird flu or some other virus or bacteria
• Hailstorm

The Human connect

• Sambhar is known as a source of salt production.
•   9% of India’s salt production.

1. 2 lakh MT annually by Government sector
2. 15 – 20 lakh MT in private sector

Changing process

• Over the decades, salt extraction in the lake has undergone a transformation.
• The traditional process is monsoon-dependent.
• The lake taps water from seasonal rivers, streams and rivulets.
• This water reacts with the lake sediments and becomes brine.
• It evaporates over 50 days leaving behind crystallised salt.
• Today, most salt production units use deep bore wells to extract groundwater, reducing the entire process to barely two weeks.

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