Context:
- A study that examined pollution levels found the water quality unsafe for the visiting avifauna.
A threat to the biodiversity:
- Chemical companies and small-scale shrimp farms around the wetland have started to pose a threat to the biodiversity and ecosystem of the sanctuary.
- Atmospheric temperature, the pH and salinity of the water exceeded permissible limits.
About Point Calimere Sanctuary
- It is a protected area in Tamil Nadu, along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere in Nagapattinam district.
- The sanctuary was created in 1967 for conservation of blackbuck antelope which was Near Threatened then.
- It is a declared Ramsar conservation site.
- The sanctuary is famous for large congregations of water birds including Greater Flamingos.
- Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are located within the sanctuary.
- It is basically an island surrounded by Bay of Bengal, Palk Strait and swampy backwaters and salt pans.
- Sand dunes, tidal mud-flats and shallow seasonal ponds are found along the coast.
Biodiversity
- It is an area of high biodiversity, with many unique species of animals and birds.
- The flagship species is Blackbuck antelope.
- Other fauna include spotted deer, jackal, bonnet monkey, wild boar, monitor lizard, small Indian civet, star tortoise, Indian grey mongoose etc.
- Bottlenose dolphin are found along the shore, which is also a regular nesting site of olive ridley turtle.
- This site has recorded the second largest congregation of migratory water birds in India.
Water birds:
- These water birds include threatened species such as spot-billed pelican, Nordmann’s greenshank, spoonbill sandpiper and black-necked stork.
- Near threatened species include black-headed ibis, Asian dowitcher, lesser flamingo, spoonbill, darter and painted stork.
- Several species of land birds are also found.
- This site is a mix of salt swamps, mangroves, backwaters, mudflats, grasslands and tropical dry evergreen forests.
About Blackbuck:
- It is one of the four antelope species in India. Chinkara, Chausingha and Nilgai being the other three.
- The blackbuck is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, found in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
- It status improved from Near Threatened to Least Concern.
Source:TH