Deh Akro-II Desert Wetland Complex

Deh Akro-II Desert Wetland Complex. 05/11/02; Sindh; 20,500 ha; 26°50'N 068°20'E. Wildlife Sanctuary. A complex of four major habitats, desert, wetland, marsh, and agricultural, 330km northeast of Karachi, representing an example of a natural inland wetland ecosystem comprising 36 lakes and unique desert habitat, which supports a variety of rare and endangered wildlife species. Based in a typical stable sand desert covered with 5m-10m dunes lying in an east-west orientation, the flat-bottomed valleys between them contain lakes, mostly brackish but five freshwater, recharged by seepage from the Nara and Jamrau irrigation canals and by rainwater. The complex plays host to a considerable number of fauna that are rare (e.g., Desert cat Felis libyca, Darter Anhinga melanogaster pennant, Garganey Anas querquedula, Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa) and endangered (e.g., Marsh crocodile crocodylus palustris, Hog deer Axis porcinus, White-eyed pochard Anthya nyroca), and it supports many indigenous fish species - though commercial fishing is prohibited, subsistence fishing by local people is permitted. Water scarcity during a current long dry spell is considered to be a threat. WWF-Pakistan assisted in preparations for the designation of the site. Ramsar site no. 1283. Most recent RIS information: 2001.

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