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The
Chilika Development Authority is conferred with Ramsar Wetland Award
- 02
The
Chilika Development Authority
Att.
Mr Ajit Pattnaik
C-5,
BJB Nagar
Bhubaneswar
Orissa
INDIA
751014
Gland,
10 June 2002
Dear
Mr Pattnaik,
Re.:
Ramsar Award and Evian Special Prize 2002
It
is my great pleasure to inform you that the Jury to the Ramsar
Wetland Conservation Award has decided to present one of the three
Awards for 2002 to the Chilika Development Authority in view of its
outstanding achievements in the field of restoration and wise use of
wetlands, as well as the impressive way in which local communities
have been included in these activities. To give you more detailed
information about the Award, a
copy of the call for nominations with the rules for the Award as
established by the Convention is being sent by post. Information
about the Ramsar Convention will be attached. More details can also
be found on our web site at www.ramsar.org
For
your information, the other Award winners are
-
A
consortium of NGOs working in the Morava-Dyje Floodplain
transboundary region in Europe (Austria, Czech Republic and
Slovak Republic). The
four organisations are Distelverein (Austria), Daphne
(Slovak Republic), Veronika (Slovak Republic), and the WWF
International-Danube Carpathian Programme (based in Austria);
and
-
The
Banrock Station Initiative of the BRL Hardy Wine Company, an
Australian company, for its outstanding achievements in the
fields of restoration and wise use of wetlands on its property,
public awareness and sponsorship of wetland conservation in
Australia and other countries.
In
addition, the Jury has decided to award a “Recognition of
Excellence” to two further nominees: Dr Max Finlayson, an
Australian scientist, and Dr Monique Coulet, a French scientist.
Both are being recognised for their outstanding contribution
to wetland science and for their commitment to wetland conservation
and wise use on the ground.
I
would be grateful if you would let me know at your earliest
convenience whether the Chilika Development Authority accepts the
Award, which includes the Evian Special Prize consisting of US$
10,000.00, generously donated by the Danone Group as part of a
collaborative project with the Ramsar Convention.
The
Ramsar Award will be presented to the winners at the opening
ceremony of the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention, which will take place in Valencia, Spain,
on 18 November 2002 at 10 a.m. Hopefully, the ceremony will be
presided over by the Crown Prince of Spain, H.R.H. Príncipe Felipe
de Borbón y Grecia.
The
Conference of the Parties will bring together the delegates of the
131 countries that so far have joined the Convention, plus many
representatives of international organisations and NGOs.
We
would be grateful if, between now and the ceremony, you would
consider and let us know to what use the Evian Special Prize could
best be put. In this
way, your intentions can be announced at the latest at the time of
the Award ceremony.
After
an initial announcement of the laureates on our web site and to our
Contracting Parties, it is our intention to prepare a longer
article, maybe also with a short video footage for showing at the
ceremony on 18 November, and we will be in touch with you in this
respect.
I
look forward to hearing from you.
Yours
sincerely,
Delmar Blasco
Secretary
General
For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail:
ramsar@ramsar.org. Posted 19 April 2000, updated 2 November 2006, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.: www.ramsar.org
The
Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award and Evian Special Prize - 2002-
Citation
The
Chilika Development Authority (CDA) receives the Ramsar Award
for its impressive work and outstanding achievements in restoring
the Chilika Lake Ramsar Site. This restoration has been carried out
based on the principles of wise 
use and integrated management, and with a major emphasis on the
participation of the local population and their shared decision-making,
as well as capacity building. Chilika Lake is a striking example of
how restoration of the ecological characteristics of a site can
result not only in increased biodiversity (plant and animal species,
notably birds), but also in a spectacular increase in fish catches
(including the reappearance of some economic species) and other
socio-economic benefits to the local population.
Chilika
Lake (Orissa, India), the largest lagoon on the east coast of India,
was added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance
in 1981. It is a 116,500 hectare brackish lagoon separated from the
Bay of Bengal by a long sandy ridge. Because of serious degradation
brought about mainly by siltation and choking of the seawater inlet
channel, resulting inter alia in the proliferation of
invasive freshwater species, the decrease in fish productivity,and
an overall loss of biodiversity, Chilika Lake was added to the List
of Ramsar sites in danger (the Montreux Record) in 1993. In addition
to its importance for water birds (over one million migratory birds
winter there) and biodiversity in general, significant numbers of
people are dependent upon the lake's resources. Created in 1992 to
address these problems, the Chilika Development Authority has
implemented a bold programme of action to restore the ecosystem
action
to restore the ecosystem and to improve the socio-economic
conditions of the communities living around the lagoon and on its
islands. One of the major interventions was the desiltation of the
channel connecting the lagoon to the sea and opening of a new mouth
to restore the natural flows of water and salinity levels. This
resulted notably, in only a couple of years, in a substantial
increase in the lagoon's fish yield and a reduction of freshwater
weeds. Other measures include catchments management in a
participatory manner; protection of bird habitat and of bird
species; economic incentives to the local population to stop
poaching of birds; measures to improve the socio-economic
conditions, such as training programmes to develop eco-tourism,
provision of solar streetlight systems to island villages,
development of a ferry service for isolated villages, construction
of landing facilities for fisher folk, as well as education and
environmental awareness activities.
The
above-mentioned activities were carried out based on the scientific
studies and recommendations of the premier institutes of the
country, with the involvement of the local population and the
support of Wetlands International and local NGOs, as well as
grass-root and community-based organisations, under the guidance of
the CDA Chief Executive Officer, Ajit Pattnaik, a native of
the region who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the task. The
restoration of Chilika lagoon derives its uniqueness from the strong
participation by local communities, linkage with various national
and international institutions, and intensive monitoring and
assessment systems. In 2001, a Ramsar Advisory Mission was carried
out at the Chilika Lake Ramsar site, which concluded with the
recommendation that the site should be removed from the Montreux
Record, provided that the management measures are continued and
monitored. The case of Chilika Lake is a perfect example of how the
listing of a site on the Montreux Record can be used to promote
measures to correct change in ecological character of a site, and
also to improve the socio-economic conditions of the population
living in and around the site.
The
Ramsar Award is being given to the Chilika Development Authority in
recognition of the exemplary restoration work carried out with the
active involvement of all stakeholders.
From
left: Chaman Trisal, Wetlands International, South Asia Programme;
Najam Khurshid, Ramsar Bureau; A. J. Pattnaik, Chilika Development
Authority; Max Finlayson, Ramsar expert consultant; Sidharth Kaul,
Ministry of Environment and Forests, on the occasion of the Ramsar
Advisory Mission to Chilika Lake, 2001.
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