A wetland at a confluence

Harike Wetland lies where the Beas and Sutlej meet in Punjab. A site information sheet submitted to the Ramsar Convention describes a lake formed by damming in the Beas–Sutlej watershed. It records the wetland’s roles in water supply and irrigation, alongside its importance to fish and birds. Nearby communities have also depended in part on fishing. The sheet is a historical record of the site and its management concerns, rather than a live description of water levels or species. Harike’s river setting connects an engineered water-storage landscape to habitats that extend beyond a single lake.[1]

Waterbirds and sanctuary

Ferozepur district’s account describes Harike as habitat for resident and migratory waterbirds, naming ducks including common teal, pintail and shoveller. It also lists fish, turtles and mammals among the wildlife recorded at the sanctuary. The area was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 1990. Bird numbers vary with season and survey methods; a list of species recorded at the site is not a promise that every visitor will see them. The sanctuary and the Ramsar wetland have different mapped extents, so their area figures should not be treated as interchangeable. The district account also identifies the common pochard among recorded waterbirds.[2]

Studying water quality

A published water-quality study traces the wetland to a barrage built at the Beas–Sutlej confluence in 1952 and examines water quality and biological systems. The authors discuss pollution pressures affecting the wetland, showing why measuring conditions is important for both wildlife and people using water. Findings from a specific sampling period cannot establish the wetland’s condition today. The historical Ramsar information sheet also identified siltation and water hyacinth as concerns. Together these sources show that protecting Harike involves catchment management, water monitoring and habitat conservation as well as its formal designation.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Ramsar Sites Information Service. Harike Lake information sheet ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Site description, uses and ecological character, indexed text. Accessed 2026-11-04.Indexed Ramsar information sheet checked; direct fetch returned HTTP 502. The sheet is historical and is not a live site assessment.Return to A wetland at a confluence, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Ferozepur District Administration. Harike Wildlife Sanctuary ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Sanctuary birdlife and fauna paragraphs. Accessed 2026-11-04.District site description checked for the named birds and animals; no current wildlife census was made.Return to Waterbirds and sanctuary, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. Jasmit Kaur, Harpreet Walia, Samson Okongo Mabwoga and Saroj Arora. Water quality monitoring of an international wetland at Harike ↗Written source · Source date: 2015 · Locator: Introduction and water-quality study. Accessed 2026-11-04.Open-access paper checked for the 1952 barrage and water-quality discussion; measurements reflect the study period.Return to Studying water quality, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PLA-0194 · English edition · human review not performed