Flamingo Lake Conservation: The Ongoing Fight Over India's Flamingo Haven
Photo by RohitgoluDey/Shutterstock.com
More than 2,300 people have signed an ongoing petition to protect Navi Mumbai’s DPS Flamingo Lake, the latest update in a battle to secure conservation for the body of water beloved by migratory flamingos.
In January 2024, seven migratory flamingos died in the lake after flying into signboards, and 10 more died in May from disrupted water flow. These deaths prompted calls for government action to protect the body of water and its flamingos from outside influence.
In December, a Right to Information (RTI) request uncovered that on Sept. 23, 2024, a nine-person committee, which included representatives from the City of Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) with leadership from the Maharashtra state forest secretary, recommended that Flamingo Lake be granted conservation reserve status, but the proposal stalled from there. This revelation upset local environmental activists.
The directives instructed for the installation of cameras and barricades around the lake, as well as 24/7 in-person surveillance from forest officials. CIDCO was also to keep water inlets at points 3 and 4 open for proper tidal water flow, the Indian Express reported. Recent inspections have found that blocked pipes remain an issue, stopping water from properly flowing through the lake.
“Despite these directives, CIDCO has not taken action, leaving the water stagnant,” BN Kumar, the director of NatConnect Foundation, told the Indian Express on Tuesday.
Flamingo Lake Conservation Protest
In response, protestors formed a silent human chain around Flamingo Lake on Feb. 2, in tandem with World Wetlands Day, to collectively announce their disapproval. Attendees carried signs with messages like, “Wetlands Are Not Wastelands,” “Flamingos Homeless in Flamingo CIty,” and “Don’t Turn Pink Lake Into Red,” among others, according to The Times of India.
“Our message is loud and clear,” Kumar said to The Times of India in February. “This wetland must be cleaned up immediately and the intertidal water flow restored as the entry points of creek water have been blocked by a road.”
Forest Minister Ganesh Naik also joined the protest.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that intertidal wetlands must be protected, and the area up to the high tide line must be conserved,” Naik said at the event in February. “Similarly, a high-level committee appointed by the State Forest Ministry has mandated that wetlands be declared conservation reserves. Both these factors apply to DPS Flamingo Lake, and I will ensure that this is brought to the notice of the authorities.”
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMAIL), located roughly six miles from Flamingo Lake, has publicly announced its commitment to biodiversity, a step in the right direction for the activists. But according to Kumar, it hasn’t been enough - other actors are still contributing negatively to the preservation of the flamingo abode.
“It is tragic that despite NMIAL committing to biodiversity conservation within the project periphery, wetlands such as DPS Flamingo Lake are being deliberately destroyed by vested interests,” Kumar told the Hindustan Times in February.
This week delivered the latest development in the saga: Maharashtra's forest department began the process of collecting signatures in support of the lake’s conservation in an effort to rally public support.
“A report compiling public opinion and the collected signatures will be submitted to the government,” an official with the department said to the Indian Express. “The mangrove cell will send its proposal to conserve the wetland as a conservation reserve.”
Flamingos in Navi Mumbai
India is a popular place for migrating flamingos to snowbird in the coldest portion of the year, and the state of Maharashtra - specifically Mumbai and Navi Mumbai - is one of the hottest spots for the pink birds.
Greater and lesser flamingos have called India home, at least part-time during the migration season, for a very long time. But their numbers have increased in recent years.
Perhaps counterintuitively, some aspects of water pollution in the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai area seem to be helping the flamingos. Such conditions allow for algae the birds love to grow in droves, which keeps the flamingos fed. This factor is influencing the population growth the region is seeing with each passing migration season, but lack of conservation is doing the opposite to other aspects of flamingo survival, particularly at Flamingo Lake.
