<h1 class="ql-align-center">Sambhar Salt Lake&nbsp;</h1> ﻿Context: <ul><li>According to a recent study,&nbsp;the world-famous Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan, which is constantly shrinking with the degradation of soil and water quality and a decline in the population of migratory birds.</li></ul> <h2>About:</h2> <ul><li>The lake, situated 80 km southwest of Jaipur, is the country’s largest inland saline water body which attracts thousands of migratory birds every year.</li></ul> <ul><li>Sambhar Lake has been recognised as a&nbsp;wetland of ‘international importance’&nbsp;under the Ramsar Convention, declared in 1990.</li></ul> <ul><li>The vegetation present in the catchment area is mostly&nbsp;xerophytic&nbsp;type.</li></ul> <ul><li>Sambhar Lake is an ideal habitat for waterbirds, inviting avian species to overwinter every year.</li></ul> <ul><li>The catchment area of Sambhar Lake spreads over the four districts, i.e., Jaipur, Ajmer, Sikar, and Nagaur of the Rajasthan state in India.&nbsp;</li></ul> <h2>Threats to Sambhar Lake:</h2> <ul><li>Landscape degradation</li></ul> <ul><li>Loss of agricultural land</li></ul> <ul><li>Groundwater exploitation</li></ul> <ul><li>Indiscriminate extraction of water</li></ul> <ul><li>Dependency of the local population on lake resources</li></ul> <ul><li>Overgrazing by domestic livestock</li></ul> <ul><li>Pollution from surrounding towns, villages, and watershed</li></ul>