Bhubaneswar: Forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra on Tuesday said that a legislation on biodiversity is soon to be considered by the State Legislative Assembly. Addressing a workshop on ‘Biodiversity conservation in Odisha: Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by the Regional Plant Resource Centre (RPRC), Bhubaneswar to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity-2012, Mishra said that biodiversity is important for our survival. Maintaining the equilibrium of biodiversity should get priority.

BHUBANESWAR: A team of scientists from Japan arrived here on Monday to study the migratory behaviour of the threatened Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika lagoon. One of the less-studied cetacean species, Irrawaddy dolphins’ dropping numbers in the brackish water lagoon had prompted Chilika Development Authority to set up a permanent station project at the lake’s mouth to study their pattern of migration.

The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has approached the Forest department to develop an eco-camp at Sipakuda island near Rambha in Chilika lake.

Besides islands which have been named as Breakfast, Honeymoon, Somolo, Ghantasila, Chhalikakuda and Gopakuda inside the lake, the mouth of the Chilika near Sipakuda is an added attraction for tourists, who come to the lake round-the-year f

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa will soon have two national institutes for studies on wetland eco-systems and turtles.

Fisheries, which occupy a prime position amongst all the natural resources of Chilika lake, have started showing signs of recovery after recording low catch for years.

Supporting the livelihood of more than two lakh fisherfolks living in and around the lake, the fish fauna of Chilika Lake is characterized by the composite of freshwater, brackish and marine elements.

The fisheries in the lake

BHUBANESWAR: Chilika is under invasion.

An estimated 114 species of migratory birds have visited the Chilika lake from the Caspian region, Lake Baikal, Russia and South Eastern parts Himalayas this winter to feed and breed, according to the State Forest and Environment Department sources.

Akshaya Kumar Sahoo

The State Board for Wildlife, the high-power body chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has not met even once in the last two years
MASSIVE URBANISATION and industrialisation in Orissa is now taking its toll on the wildlife resources.