Kanjli Wetland

Kanjli Wetland and Kanjli Lake
Kanjli Wetland and Kanjli Lake
Location	Punjab
Coordinates	31°25′N 75°22′E / 31.42°N 75.37°E / 31.42; 75.37
Type	Freshwater
Primary inflows	Kali Bein rivulet
Basin countries	India
Surface area	490 ha (1,200 acres)
Average depth	3.05 m (10.0 ft)
Max. depth	7.62 m (25.0 ft)
Surface elevation	210 m (690 ft)
Settlements	Kapurthala
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Kanjli
Designated	22 January 2002
Reference no.	1160[1]

Kanjli Wetland is a man-made Wetland that subsumes the Kanjli Lake, and is located in the Kapurthala district of Punjab state in India. It was created in 1870 by constructing the headworks across the perennial Bien River, a tributary of the Beas River to provide irrigation facilities to the hinterland. The rich biodiversity of the wetland comprising aquatic, mesophytic and terrestrial flora and fauna including some important species of plants and animals was recognized internationally by the Ramsar Convention in 2002 by designating the Kanjli Lake in the List of Wetlands of International Importance.^[2] In this context, it is reported that the Punjab State which has 14 wetlands covering an area of 225.76 km² (2% of the geographical area of the State) has the unique position of three of its wetlands viz., the Kanjli Wetland covering an area of 490 ha of which the Kanjli Lake water spread is 184 ha), the Harike Wetland (4100 ha) and the Ropar Wetland (1365 ha) chosen by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoE&F), Government of India for their conservation and management are now also included in the Ramsar list covering a total area of 5650 ha; Kanjli is upstream of Harike wetland located in the Beas river basin while the Ropar wetland is in the Roopnagar district.^[3][4]