Chilika Lake

About Chilika Lake:

• It is a brackish water lake and a shallow lagoon with estuarine character spread across the districts of Puri, Khurda and Ganjam in the state of Odisha.
• It is connected to the Bay of Bengal by a 32 km long and 1.5 km wide channel that mostly runs parallel to the Bay separated by a narrow spit.
• It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km2.
• It can be broadly divided into four ecological sectors based on salinity and depth, namely the southern zone, the central zone, the northern zone and the outer channel. 
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl found anywhere on the Indian sub-continent.
• It is one of the hotspot of biodiversity in the country, and some rare, vulnerable and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals inhabit the Lake area for atleast part of their life cycle.
• In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• The Nalaban Island within the lake is notified as a Bird Sanctuary under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. 

Q1:What is the Ramsar Convention?

The Ramsar Convention, formally known as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, is an international treaty aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources. It is one of the world's oldest and most significant global environmental agreements. The convention was adopted on February 2, 1971, in the city of Ramsar, Iran

Source: Migratory birds arrive in Odisha’s Chilika before winter; is climate change to blame?