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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Ram Sagar Lake is about 24 km north of Bundi and 170 km south of Jaipur. It is an irrigation tank watering agricultural land in the surrounding areas through canal systems. The lake was constructed by the erstwhile Maharaja of Bundi for irrigation. More than 10,000 waterfowl are recorded during winter. Many pairs of Sarus Crane use the surrounding areas for breeding. In February 2002, during survey 8,000-10,000 waterfowl and two pairs of Sarus raising their chicks were recorded (Kulshreshtra, in litt. 2002). Due to scanty rainfall in 2002, this lake was reduced to 25% of its total capacity. Seventy-five percent of the wetland has submerged vegetation, dominated by Najas graminea, N. minor, Hydrilla verticillata, and Vallisneria natans. Only about 25 % of the area has emergent vegetation, which is found towards the periphery of the wetland. The species are mainly Ipomoea carnea and I. aquatica. Floating vegetation covers only 25% of the area. The major species are Nymphoides cristatum, Nymphaea pubescens and N. indica, Eichhornia crassipes and Cladophora. Lotus is commercially grown in the Lake.

AVIFAUNA: Ram Sagar (Hindoli) is one of the most important wetlands in the semi-arid Bundi district. However, during the last few years, waterfowl numbers have declined from more than 20,000 to 8- 10,000 due to scanty rainfall. During normal rainfall years when the waterspread is extensive, and shallow areas become available at the fringes, up to 10 pairs of Sarus Cranes have been observed by local people. We have included it in the IBA list due to its great potential to attract more than 20,000 waterfowl, and because it is the nesting site for the globally threatened Sarus Crane. The Lake falls in Biome-11 (Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: At the Ram Sagar (Hindoli) Lake, 13 commercially valuable species of fish were recorded from the reservoir (Kulshreshtha 2002). Not much is known about other fauna.

MAIN THREATS: Agriculture; Pollution: Pesticides; Encroachment; Eutrophication.

This wetland is commonly used for agriculture, irrigation, drinking and wallowing by cattle, and clay gathering. People use the lake for a variety of agricultural purposes. Villagers often disturb wintering flocks of waterfowl. Overuse of water for agriculture, use of pesticides, encroachment in the lake by local villagers, reduction in water level and eutrophication are all associated problems.

Key contributor: Manoj Kulshreshtha.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ramsagar Lake (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ramsagar-lake-iba-india on 22/11/2024.