Current view: Text account
Site description (2005 baseline):
Site location and context
Jagdishpur is currently the largest reservoir in the country with a surface area of 157 ha and was constructed for the purpose of irrigation. It was created over the location of Jakhira Lake and surrounding agricultural land in the early 1970s. The construction of a rock-fill dyke took place in the early 1980s. The water in the reservoir is fed from the nearby Banganga River that has a catchment area in the Churia Hills. Incoming suspended silts and nutrients are deposited in the reservoir mouth. The water depth at the reservoir’s deepest point varies from a maximum of 5 - 7 metres to a minimum of 2 -3 metres. The reservoir is surrounded by cultivated land and there are two smaller lakes known as Sagarhawa and Niglihawa situated in the area that serve as a buffer habitat for bird movements.
The reservoir bank is planted with Dalbergia sissoo and Acacia catechu. The aquatic vegetation is represented by extensive coverage of floating leaved species, mainly Nelumbo nucifera, followed by Hygrorhiza aristata and Potamogetan nodosus. The abundant submerged species include Naja minor, Ceratophyllum demersum and Hydrilla verticillata. Ipomea carnea ssp. fistulosa and Typha angustifolia grow around the reservoir margin.
In general the vegetation is in a submerged succession stage, with patches of floating species and reed swamp formations. The dense aquatic macrophyte vegetation indicates an advancing eutrophic status and a high sedimentation rate. This could lead to a rapid succession towards a marsh meadow condition and a reduction in the life span of the reservoir in the absence of a desiltation tank (DNPWC and IUCN 2003).
The birds of Jagdishpur are very poorly known, although the site is believed to provide an important habitat for resident, wintering and passage migrant wetland birds. Five globally threatened species have been recorded including Lesser Adjutant. A total of 42 bird species was found during a July 1997 survey, despite heavy rain, but no other systematic survey has taken place (DNPWC and IUCN 2003). Many more species are likely to occur.
Non-bird biodiversity: The wetland supports a small population of the globally threatened Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perpsicillata. A total of 25 species of fish was recorded during the July 1997 survey (DNPWC and IUCN 2003).
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The reservoir has a fluctuating water level according to the demand for the irrigation of cultivated land. The irrigation system is managed by the Department of Irrigation, Kapilvastu District Office.
In 2003 Jagdishpur was designated a Ramsar site. However the lack of a proper monitoring scheme, both by the Ramsar Bureau and by HMG/N, has resulted in the further deterioration of the site’s value as an international wetland. The site was proposed as a bird sanctuary, but nothing has been done so far to achieve this. Local people have been approached to develop the reservoir as a tourist destination. Threats to the site include hunting, disturbance, deposition of aquatic macrophytes, water pollution from agricultural chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), and alien invasive species such as Eichhornia crassipes (DNPWC and IUCN 2003). In 2004 the entire reservoir was drained by local people in order to catch fish, although the former water level is likely to be restored in due course by monsoon rains and some fish may naturally return with the incoming river water. Ornithological surveys and conservation awareness programmes for local communities are urgently needed. The reservoir has been leased for a period of five years for fish stocking at a cost of Rs.7.6 million (according to informal estimates provided by officials at the District Irrigation Office, Butwal).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jagdishpur Reservoir (Nepal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jagdishpur-reservoir-iba-nepal on 23/12/2024.
