A group of flamingos at the Chilika lake. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 3: Air travellers across the globe will soon enjoy the pristine beauty of Chilika lake on their LCD screens on board.

A team from National Geographic Channel arrived in the capital today to film Chilika lake, Asia’s largest inland salt-water lagoon.

The five-member crew of the National Geographic Channel will spend a week to capture the footages for their documentary on the lake. They will be stationed at Satapada and Barkul. Secretary general of Ramsar Centre, Japan, Reiko Nakamura and Ritesh Kumar from the South Asia branch of Wetlands International are part of the group.

Chilika lake has been shortlisted for filming as one of the five sites of ecological importance from across the globe. The other four sites are the Unesco’s Man and the Biosphere site of East Usambara in Tanzania for its tropical rain forest; the Yellowstone National Park in the US for its wilderness, wolf project and tracking of large animals; Abrolhos region in Brazil for interlocking marine ecosystems like reefs, islands and mangroves, whale conservation, protected areas and sustainable fishing and maintenance of biodiversity; and Hagia Sophia in Turkey for its renovation project.

“The restoration project of the Chilika ecosystem has finally paid its dividend as the lake is the only site from Asia to be listed under the documentary plan by the National Geographic team,” said Ajit Patnaik, the chief executive officer of the Chilika Development Authority.

“The entire project is being sponsored by the corporate social responsibility plan of the Star Alliance group, and the documentary film would be screened in 4,027 aircraft of various airlines,’’ he added.

“The filming process is a part of the Unesco’s biosphere connections programme, which is an initiative to collaborate with the leaders of the world for conservation works. Chilika lake is also a signatory to the Ramsar Convention which provides support for better management and convention of wetlands across the world. The second largest brackish water lake in India, the biodiversity and ecosystem of Chilika are now being planned and managed by the Chilika Development Authority,’’ he said.

“Chilika’s wealth is unmatched. Migratory birds come to the lake from places like Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other parts of Runia, Kirghiz Steppe, Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas. The islands of Chilika are also unique and of historical importance,’’ he added.