Hakaluki Haor

Hakaluki Haor located in greater Sylhet, the haor offers a very different type of ecosystem as well as a new set of management issues. The haor basin is an extensive alluvial plain supporting a variety of wetland habitats. It contains about 47 major haors and more than 6,000 beels, or freshwater lakes, nearly half of which are seasonal. Hakaluki Haor itself is a complex of more than 80 inter-connecting beels located in the Maulvi Bazar district. During the dry season, the beels cover an area of approximately 4,400 ha. However, during the rainy season, the entire area gets flooded, and the beels are united as one large lake, or haor, with an area of approximately 18,000 ha. This makes it the largest haor in Bangladesh. Some 190,000 people live surrounding Hakaluki haor area. Hakaluki haor is a highly significant site for a wide variety of waterfowl. It is important for wintering migratory birds. Its overall significance is perhaps best expressed with reference to the various criteria for inclusion as a Ramsar site. "It is a particularly good representative example of a wetland which plays a substantial hydrological, biological or ecological role in the natural functioning of a major river basin85" (Ramsar Criterion 1.c); "It supports an appreciable assemblage of rare, vulnerable or endangered species of plant or animal, or an appreciable number of individuals of any one or more of these species." (Criterion 2.a); "It is of special value for maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of a region because of the peculiarities of its flora and fauna." (Criterion 2.b); "It regularly supports about 20,000 waterfowl." (Criterion 3.a); "It regularly supports substantial numbers of individuals from particular groups of waterfowl, indicative of wetland values, productivity or diversity" (Criterion 3.b).