Odisha, a state in eastern India, is extremely diverse and gives the state abundance of natural beauty and wildlife. The districts in the interior are thickly covered by tropical moist deciduous and tropical dry deciduous forests. The hills, plateaus and isolated areas of the northeastern part of the state are covered by the tropical moist deciduous forests whereas the dry deciduous forests are located in the southwest region of the state. Some of the trees which grow in abundance in Odisha are bamboo, teak, rosewood, sal, piasal, sanghvan and haldi. There are 479 species of birds, 86 species of mammals, 19 species of amphibians and 110 species of reptiles present in Odisha. The state is also an important habitat for the endangered olive ridley turtles and Irrawaddy dolphins. Koraput district of southern Odisha has been identified by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of UN as Global Agricultural Heritage site which is among only other three sites in the world. Other sites are in Peru, China and Philippines.

Forest

Almost one-third of Odisha is covered by forests which make up about 37.34% of the total land area of the state. These forests cover most of southern and western Odisha. The eastern plains adjacent to the coast are covered by farmlands.

The forest cover of Odisha extends over an area of 58,136.869 square kilometres out of which reserve forests make up an area of , demarcated protected forests make up and undemarcated protected forests make up . Other types of forests make up while unclassed forests make up of the total forest cover. Bon Jour The State Government of Odisha also classifies forests based on their density. About of land are classified as very dense forests with a canopy density of over 86 percent, of forests are classified as moderately dense cover with a canopy density of 50 to 70 percent and of land are classified as an open forest with a canopy density of 10 to 40 percent.

Odisha is the vast state of plants and animals. Odisha's forests yield large quantities of teak and bamboo. Teak, apart from medicinal plants and Kendu leaves contribute substantially towards Odisha's economy. Odisha's forest ecosystem has been greatly affected by deforestation and illegal smuggling and poaching. The state government has established the Odisha Forest Development Corporation to combat the means of smuggling. The State Pollution Control Board has brought a set of rules to force in order to combat environmental pollution.

Chilika Lake

In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention due to its rich biodiversity. Over a million migratory waterfowl and shorebirds winter here including many rare and endangered species. The lake is of great value in preserving genetic diversity and over 400 vertebrate species have been recorded. However conflicts have arisen over the ecosystem of the lake such as Siltation, and disagreements between fisherman, resulting in an overall loss of biodiversity. As a result, the Odisha State Government with support from the Government of India adopt adaptive conservation and management actions. In 1992, the Government of Odisha, concerned by the degradation of the lake's ecosystem, established the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) for the restoration and overall development of the lake under the Indian Societies Registration Act. An Integrated Management Plan was later implemented with financial support of ₹570 million (US$12.7 million) and Hydrobiological monitoring was supported under the Odisha Water Resources Consolidation Project of the World Bank, to the extent of Rs 10 million (US$220,000). A strong support network was created with 7 state government organisations, 33 NGOs, 3 National Government Ministries, 6 other organisations, 11 International organisations, 13 research institutions and 55 different categories of community groups established good international contacts for protection in the area.

In November 2002, the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award was presented to the Chilika Development Authority for "outstanding achievements in the field of restoration and wise use of wetlands and effective participation of local communities in these activities".

The ecological richness of the lake is of great value in preserving the genetic diversity because of the multiplicity of its habitat, flora and fauna. (Some are pictured in the photo gallery). The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) surveyed the lake between 1985 and 1988 and identified 800 species of fauna, including many rare, endangered, threatened and vulnerable species, but excluding terrestrial insects.

The rare and threatened animal species identified are green sea turtle (EN), dugong (VU), Irrawaddy dolphin (VU), blackbuck (NT), spoon billed sandpiper (CR), limbless skink and fishing cat (EN). 24 mammalian species were reported. 37 species of reptiles and amphibians are also reported.

Flora Recent surveys revealed an overall 726 species of flowering plants belonging to 496 genera and 120 families. This represents about one–fourth of the vascular plant species of the Odisha state where some 2900 species altogether are found. Fabaceae is the most dominant plant family followed by Poaceae and Cyperaceae. Certain species were found to be characteristic of specific islands. Important species identified are:. Leguminosae, Poaceae, and Cyperaceae Endemic cassipourea ceylanica Five species of seagrass Wild plants of horticultural importance and interesting plant groups such as insectivorous plants, epiphytes, parasites and lithophytes Mangrove associates, such as Aegiceras corniculatus, Excoecaria agalloch, Salvadora persica, Pongamia pinnata, Colubrina asiatica, Capparis roxburghii, Macrotyloma ciliatum and many others.

Fauna

Chilika Lake is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds, on the Indian sub-continent. It is one of the hotspots of biodiversity in the country. Some species listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species inhabit the lake for at least part of their lifecycle.

Migratory water fowl arrive here from as far as the Caspian Sea, Baikal Lake and remote parts of Russia, Mongolia, Lakah, Siberia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and from the Himalayas. A census conducted in the winter of 1997–98 recorded about 2 million birds in the lake.

In 2007, nearly 840,000 birds visited the lake, out of which 198,000 were spotted in Nalbana Island. On 5 January 2008, a bird census involving 85 wildlife officials counted 900,000 birds of which 450,000 were sighted in Nalabana. Removal of invasive species of freshwater aquatic plants, especially water hyacinth, due to restoration of salinity, is a contributing factor for the recent increasing attraction of birds to the lake.

Nalbana Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake. Nalbana means a weed covered island In the Odia language.... It is a major island in the centre of the lake and has an area of . The island gets completely submerged during the monsoon season. As the monsoon recedes in the winter, lake levels decrease and the island is gradually exposed, birds flock to the island in large numbers to feed on its extensive mudflats. Nalbana was notified in 1987 and declared a bird sanctuary in 1973 under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Large flocks of greater flamingos from Iran and the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, feed in the shallow waters of the lake. Other-long legged waders seen around Nalbana Island are the lesser flamingos, Goliath herons, grey herons, and purple herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks and black-headed ibis.

Rare birds reported in the lake are Asiatic dowitchers (NT), Dalmatian pelican (VU), Pallas's fish-eagles (VU), the very rare migrant spoon-billed sandpiper (CR) and spot-billed pelican (NT).

The white-bellied sea eagle, pariah kite, brahminy kites, kestrel, marsh harriers, and the world's most widespread bird of prey, the peregrine falcon, are among the raptors seen here.

Many short-legged shorebirds are seen in a narrow band along the shifting shores of the lake and islands. These include plovers, the collared pratincole, ruff, dunlin, snipes and sandpipers. larks, wagtails and lapwings are also found on the mudflats. Feeding in deeper water are the longer-legged avocets, stilts and godwits.

The higher vegetated areas of the lake support moorhens, coots and jacanas. Pond herons and night herons can be seen along the shores with kingfishers and rollers. Little cormorants are seen on perches around the lake. Compact flocks of brahminy ducks, as well as shovellers, pintails, gadwall, teals, pochards, geese and coots, are also seen.

Nesting colonies of gull-billed terns and river terns are seen on the Nalabana Island. In 2002, the Bombay Natural History Society survey recorded 540 nests of the Indian river tern at the island, the largest nesting colony in the southeast Asia.

As per the Chilika Development Authority's (CDA) updated data (2002), 323 aquatic species, which includes 261 fish species, 28 prawns and 34 crabs are reported out of which sixty five species breed in the lake. 27 species are freshwater fishes and two genera of prawns. The remaining species migrate to the sea to breed. 21 species of herrings and sardines of the family Clupeidae are reported.

Between 1998 and 2002, 40 fish species were recorded here for the first time and following the reopening of the lake mouth in 2000, six threatened species have reappeared, including: Milk fish (Seba khainga), Indo-Pacific tarpon (Panialehio), Ten pounder (Nahama), Bream (Kala khuranti), Hilsa (ilishi) and Mullet (Kekenda)

Commercial fisheries For centuries fisher folk evolved exclusive rights of fishing through a complex system of partitioning the fisheries of the lake, harvested the lake in a relatively sustainable fashion and developed a large range of fishing techniques, nets and gear.

During the British rule, in 1897–98, fishermen community enjoyed exclusive fisheries rights in the lake. The fisheries of the lake were part of the Zamindari estates of Khallikote, Parikud, Suna Bibi, Mirza Taher Baig and the Chaudhary families of Bhungarpur and the Khas mahal areas of Khurda, lying within the kingdoms of the Rajas of Parikud and Khallikote. The zamindars (Landlords) leased out the fisheries exclusively to the local fisherfolk.

With the abolition of zamindari (land lordship) system in 1953, traditional fishing areas continued to be leased out to cooperatives of local fishermen. Fishing, particularly, prawn fishing, became increasingly remunerative with outside interest playing an important role. But in 1991, when the government of Odisha proposed a leasing policy that would have resulted in the auction of leases to the highest bidder, fishermen's cooperatives challenged the order in court. The High Court of Odisha ordered the Government to enact changes that would protect the interests of traditional fishermen and since then no new leases have been reported. This has resulted in a chaotic regime in which powerful vested interests from outside dominate, and the local people have been subordinated.