KABARTAL
LAKE - ENVIRONMENT
News: Only Ramsar site in Bihar neglected
and on verge of drying up
What's
in the news?
●
Bihar’s only wetland of international
importance under the Ramsar Convention lies neglected and is on the brink of
drying up, even as the state is pitching other waterbodies for the
classification.
Kabartal
Lake:
●
The Kabartal Wetland (locally known as
Kanwar Lake) is Asia’s largest oxbow
lake situated in the Begusarai district of Bihar.
Features:
●
It is a residual oxbow lake, formed due to
the meandering of Gandak River, a
tributary of Ganga.
●
It is the first wetland in Bihar to be
included in the Ramsar convention.
●
The government of India declared it a bird sanctuary in 1989.
●
It is one of the most important wetlands
for waterfowl in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
●
The lake has been home to 58 migratory
birds.
●
It served as an important stopover along
the Central Asian Flyway with at
least 58 migratory water birds.