Only floating Park in the World || UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Keibul Lamjao National Park

  Only floating Park in the World

       Keibul Lamjao National Park (Keibul Lamjao Leepakki Lampak) is a national park in Bishnupur district of Manipur state in northeastern India. It is spread over an area of 40 km square (15.4 sq mi), which is the only floating national park in the world, and is an integral part of Loktak Lake. Keibul Lamjao Conservation Area represents an extraordinary story of natural antiquity, diversity, beauty and human affection. It is currently on the "Keibul Lamjao Conservation Area (KLCA)" tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

        The national park is characterized by floating decomposed vegetative material locally called phumdi (a Manipuri word meaning floating mat of soil and vegetation). The spectacular view of the KLNP is a highlight, and it is often described as the "Switzerland of the East". This beautiful floating park is a potential asset for eco-tourism as it generates revenue for the natives. It was created in 1966 as a wildlife sanctuary to preserve the natural habitat of the endangered Eld's deer (Cervus eldi eldi). It was gazetted as a national park in 1977.

Geography:

     

The park is a swamp with floating masses of vegetation formed by the accumulation of organic debris and biomass along with soil particles, thickened into a solid form called phumdis, on the south-eastern shore of Loktak Lake, declared a Ramsar site. Two-thirds to three-fourths of the total park area is made up of phumdis. A waterway through the park provides year-round access by boats running through Loktak Lake to Pabot Hill in the north. The reserve area of the park was 4,000 hectares (9,884.2 acres). The swamp consists of three hills, namely Pabot, Toya and Chingjao which provide shelter to large mammals during the monsoon season. The distinctive nature of the park is that it is "too deep to be a swamp, too shallow to be a lake". The shape of the lake is oval with a maximum length and width of 26 km and 13 km respectively. The depth of the lake ranges between 0.5 to 4.58 meters and the average depth recorded is 2.7 metres. The southern part of the lake consists of 14 hills of varying sizes and heights, which appear as islands. The most prominent of these are Sendra, Ithing and Thanga islands.

   The people of Manipur are socially, economically, culturally and ecologically linked to Loktak Lake and Keibul Lamjao National Park. The lake has been a source of water for domestic hydropower generation, irrigation, habitat for many plants used as food, fishing grounds for local people, fodder, fuel, medicines, biodiversity, recreation, etc. Hence, Loktak Lake is called the 'Lifeline of Manipur'.

     There are three types of communities living in the villages located around the Keibul Lamjao Conservation Area, phum residents (people living temporarily or permanently on phumdi), island communities (living on islands) and lake shore communities.

National parks are gateways to protecting the future of the ecosystem. Although less discussed than other national parks of India, Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) represents a stunning story of "natural pristineness, diversity, beauty and human affection". being the world's only floating national park – it teaches an invaluable lesson about how humans and wildlife are interconnected and how this interdependence can help preserve biodiversity.

Hydrological Features

       The hydro-meteorological characteristics of the region are marked by the dominance of the Indian tropical monsoon, with an average annual rainfall of 1,183 mm (46.6 in), with July and August being the wettest months and February and March being the driest months.

         

     The shape of the park varies with the seasons as it is composed of phumdis (swamps of organic matter). The peripheral areas of the lake are frozen to the lake bed during the dry season, but become almost completely submerged for a few days during the monsoon season. It emerges and after a few days separates from the ground and floats completely to the surface; The depth of the phumdi ranges from 1 feet (0.3 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) and during this period the animals of the park migrate to higher hilly areas. About twenty percent of its thickness floats above the surface of the lake, supporting the weight of the large mammals. The park, composed mainly of moist semi-evergreen forests, has a rich mix of aquatic, wetland and terrestrial ecosystems.