Deh Akro-II Desert Wetland Complex locally referred to as Deh Akro, is one of the ten Ramsar sites located in Sindh province of Pakistan. Designated under the Ramsar convention in 2002, the internationally significant site has mainly an inland wetland ecosystem and covers an area of around 20,500 hectares (51,000 acres).[1][2]
Location
The complex lies in central Sindh in Shaheed Benazirabad District,[a] in proximity to the regions of Naushahra Feroz District at a distance of approximately 330 kilometres (210 mi) in the northeast of the provincial capital, Karachi. In the northeast of the complex, borders the Nara desert which is a subdivision of the larger Thar Desert.
Deh Akro-II Complex preserves a diverse collection of wildlife due to the alteration of geographic features within the confines of the complex. It comprises marshy areas, agricultural lands, sandy deserts, and wetlands, which collectively raise it a site holding the four varying habitats. In between the desert land with an average of 5 to 10-metre sand, there are plain interdunal valleys transversing with freshwater lakes in them. Out of a total of thirty-six lakes which form the wetland of the complex, five are freshwater lakes while the remaining lakes are mostly composed of brack water due to considerable salts concentrations. All are waterbodies from the local irrigations specially the Nara Canal[b] of the Indus River of the region, and are also fed by rainwater.[1]
Due to water scarcity and climate change, the wetland complex which initially contained 45 lakes as of 1988, reduced to 36 lakes in 2003. Later in 2021, the number reportedly dropped to 32.[7][4]
There are also human settlements in the complex which include Kunjwaro, Nathantal, Lalantar, Drigadaro, Pokhal-wari, Husayfakir, and some others.
The national reptile of the country, Crocodylus palustris, commonly called as the "marsh crocodile", has been a vital subject among species of crocodiles in the Indian subcontinent. In Deh Akro-II, the crocodile inhabits the swamps, marshlands, and lakes. Throughout the last three decades, this IUCN's redlisted species faced reduction in its population due to poaching, prolonged water shortage and habitat destruction in the Deh Akro-II. As of 2021, the international conservationists pointed out a 90 percent decline in the count of crocodiles during the period.[4][11][12]
