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Article: Asian countries team up to save desert wetland. .
- Article from:
- Environment
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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From November to April, the Rann of Kutch, an area that stretches nearly two million hectares across northwestern India and southern Pakistan, is a vast salt flat--bleak, hot, and dusty. But for the other half of the year, it is a different place altogether. The salt flats become flooded with runoff from monsoon rains and seawater driven by high winds and tides from the Arabian Sea. This deluge transforms the flats into marshes that teem with more than 200 species of birds, including one of the world's largest breeding colonies of greater and lesser flamingos. During the wet season, many large mammals also inhabit the few areas of higher ground, which provide a place for ...