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Site description (2004 baseline):

Thol is an irrigation tank with water storage capacity of about 84 million cubic metres. It was constructed in 1912 during the Gaekwad regime to supply irrigation water to villagers, thus they have the traditional right to use water. Thol is predominantly an open sheet of shallow water of about 1,450 ha command area, surrounded by cropland. The catchment area is nearly 15,500 ha (Pandit 2001). In 1988, this wetland was declared as Thol Bird Sanctuary. Kadi, the taluka headquarters of the district, is just 22 km away from the Sanctuary, 25 km northwest of Ahmedabad. The final settlement of the Sanctuary is still pending. At present, it is under two departments - Forest and Irrigation, which creates problems in management. Thol is an important inland wetland in North Gujarat, and provides excellent habitat to the waterfowl during post-monsoon to winter season. More than 20,000 waterfowl can be seen at the site in winter. The vast open sheet of shallow water and the surrounding crop fields, where the birds are mostly left unmolested, have created a very conducive habitat for birds. There are emergent and floating aquatic plants, mainly in the vicinity of the wetland. Acacia nilotica, A. leucoploea, Zizyphus sp, Azadirachta indica, Ficus sp., Salvadora sp, Prosopis chilensis, Capparis sp. are the important tree species in and around the pond. Some peripheral area has been afforested during recent years (Singh 1998, 2001).

AVIFAUNA: Over 150 species of birds are reported from the Sanctuary, of which around 90 species are waterbirds. The site is important for prebreeding congregation and nesting of Sarus Crane Grus antigone. Gopi Sunder et al. (2000) have seen 35 cranes in May 1998. Thol also supports one of the biggest congregations of Ruff Philomachus pugnax. Sometimes 5-6 thousand Flamingos congregate in the Thol lake. Thakker (1983) found 70-80 nests of flamingo, presumably Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber, although he does not mention the species. It is also not proved whether the flamingo bred there or just made the nests and abandoned them, as they do in many other wetlands. Thol is a very important wintering area for waterfowl. For example, approximately 62,000 birds were estimated in December 2000 (Singh 2001).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: In the fields surrounding the Sanctuary, Bluebull Boselaphus tragocamelus, Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena, Wolf Canis lupus, Golden Jackal Canis aureus and Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra are found. In some parts of Mehsana district, Blackbuck has become a major menace to crops but as the people are generally vegetarian, they do not molest these animals. Nilgai is also common and spreading.

MAIN THREATS: Withdrawal of water for irrigation; Illegal cultivation; Excessive use of pesticides in the surrounding paddy croplands may be toxic to the birds feeding on them.

Most of the water of the lake is drawn for irrigation, leaving the waterspread in less than 10 ha during midwinter. Local villagers carry out cultivation within the Sanctuary. Although the level of protection against poaching is good, there are difficulties in implementing the provision of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, because of historical use of the water by local people as well as non-settlement of legal issues related to illegal cultivation and withdrawal of water (Singh 1998). There are seven crude oil wells in the Sanctuary for pumping crude oil and supplying it through the pipeline. Oil spills around the well cause pollution.

Key contributors: H. S. Singh and the IBA Team.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/thol-lake-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 22/11/2024.