06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

agricultural fields for the purpose of fencing.
The male inflorescence is the raw material for
perfume industry. People from Pallur and Malud
earn revenue by selling kewda inflorescences
collected from the interior regions of Chilika to
the nearest distillation plants located at
Chatrapur at a distance of 30 kID. Besides the
inflorescence, people make use of the root from
kewda as rope and for making basket. Seeds
from the plant Callophyllum inophyllum
comonly used for aforestation yield oil.
Gracilaria verrucosa, an agarophyie, which was
occurring widely in Chilika lagoon five decades
ago is now on the decline. The alga presently
restricted to specific areas in the central sector
only and the monthly average production varied
greatly with season (Sahu and Adhikary, 1999).
This above species is an important source of agar
agar. Besides Gracilaria verrucosa, other
seaweeds such as Ulva, Enteromorpha and
Chaetomorpha are also plenty in Chilika which
have the potential for commercial exploitation as
fodder/feed and manure (Adhikary, 2002).
It is important to note that traditionally, the
agricultural farmers have been harvesting the
decomposed sea weed, mostly consisting of bluegreen
algae and green alga from the coast of
Chilika, after drying for a day or two the same is
transported to the crop fields for use as
biofertilizer, often along with cattle dung compost
in the ratio, 4:1.
ii. Domesticated
a. Crops: Rice (Oryza sativa) and ragi (finger
millet, Eleusine coracana) constitute the major
staple food for the local people. Paddy fields,
being low lying, often remain flooded or water
logged. Specific tall varieties of rice such as
Ratnachudi, Budha udhijog, Barmania etc. are
preferred to the high yielding dwarf varieties.
Although a majority of the people living in side
the lagoon do cultivation of rice, the crop yield
has been increasing unreliable because of flood
due to excess rain or excess soil-salinity due to
no rain or drought. Groundnut (Archis
hypogea) constitutes the third crop of the
region.
b. Plantation: There is a large forest area both on
the coastal side and around the lake. Towards
the coast, bordering the sea plants like palm
and coconut grow wildly. The local plantation
mainly consists of Casuarina equisetifolia,
Calophyllwn inophyllum, Anacardium
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Chilika Lake
occidentale, and Morinda tomentosa,
Eucalyptus citriodora and Acacia
auriculaeformis, mostly carried out through
plantation programmes by the Social Forestry
Project of the State Government. In certain
areas e.g. in localities between Nuapada and
Paikarapur in Krushnaprasad block, and in the
adjoining areas of Satapada and Arakhakuda
of Brahmagiri block, people depend
Anacardium occidentale (yield cashewnut)
and Calophyllum inophyllum (yield oil from
seed) as cash crop, respectively. Coconut
plantation is also seen in certain localities
although to a less extent. Since the soil and
climate of this region is suitable for coconut
cultivation, there is the potential for large scale
Coconut cultivation in this region.
c. Livestock: Livestock constitute buffalo, cow,
goat, sheep, pig and poultry. Over 50,000 cattle
graze in and around the lagoon (Trisal,. 2002).
Bubalus bubalis L. a local variant of buffalo is
known for its characteristic grazing habit. It
grazes over the submerged seaweed by keeping
its head under water, which is interpreted as
an adaptive feature of the animal specific to
the locality. It would therefore be of interest to
identify the under water weeds that could be
exploited further as fodder for the livestock
d. Aquaculture: Aquaculture includes prawn and
shrimp culture, seen widely in the locality.
Aquaculture has been a common practice of the
local people in the villages adjacent to the
lagoon. Aquaculture is being done along the
coast of Chilika, all around. Most of the Palur
Canal as well as water bodies in Krishnaprasad
Block are used for aquaculture. The National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) promotes prawn culture through
financing various schemes (Directorate of
Fisheries, 1997). The price range of prawn, P.
monodon is RS.380-420per kg, whereas that of
P. indicus is Rs. 180-280 per kg. Commercial
export of prawn or shrimp has been an
important source of revenue for the state
(Directorate of Fisheries, 1997).
Vi. Threats To The Bioresource
i. NaturaVEnvironmental
The idyllic beauty, the scenic landscape of islands
and hills around, the breath taking range of
resident and migratory avifaunal profile, and the
island temple of Goddess Kalijai offer irresistible