The Little Rann of Kutch is a

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

which is part of the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into ...

in Kutch district,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India.

Attractions

Indian wild ass sanctuary

The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the

Indian wild ass The Indian wild ass (''Equus hemionus khur''), also called the Indian onager or, in the local Gujarati language, Ghudkhur and Khur, is a subspecies of the onager native to South Asia. It is currently listed as Near Threatened by IUCN. The prev ...

(khur). To conserve this species, the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary (IWAS) was created in 1973 and covers nearly five thousand square km. The sanctuary is also home to many species of migratory birds, such as the sarus crane,

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

s, the

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...

, and

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

es, as well as land birds like the

sandgrouse Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...

, the

francolin Francolins are birds in the tribe Gallini that traditionally have been placed in the genus ''Francolinus'', but now commonly are divided into multiple genera. As previously defined, they were paraphyletic as the genus '' Pternistis'', which wa ...

and the

Indian bustard The great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') or Indian bustard, is a bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of t ...

. It is also home to various mammals such as the

Indian wolf The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant win ...

, desert fox and

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter S ...

Kutch biosphere reserve

In 2008, to project Kutch as an international nature destination, the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

designated the area as the Kutch Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere reserves aim to promote sustainable development in the surrounding area, which is reserved for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

and

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

. Such reserves are protected under the

Wildlife Protection Act The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...

, the Indian Forest Act and the Forest Conservation Act. The government provides funds for the conservation of the landscape's biological diversity and its cultural heritage. The reserve's vegetation is mainly

xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or t ...

as groundwater is scarce. The 74 elevated plateaus (also called islands or bets) have around 253 flowering species. According to some estimates, about 70,000 to 75,000 birds nest in an area of about 250 acres.

Economy

Salt panning

Salt panning is a crucial seasonal activity in the Rann of Kutch, producing the majority of India's inland salt. During the monsoon season, the underwater table of the Kutch is filled with saltwater. After the water recedes in October, salt workers temporarily settle and use diesel pumps to pump the saltwater into fields. Then, the natural climate conditions allow evaporation of the water, leaving only the salt crystals. Salt panning workers face severe health issues due to working in the harsh conditions in the fields continuously for 6–7 months. In 2019, as a means of financially supporting the salt pan workers and promoting a move from diesel to solar-powered pumps, the government of Gujarat allowed the state to purchase excess solar power generated during the off-season. Using solar-powered as opposed to diesel pumps can reduce the cost of salt production by one-third.

Ginger prawn fishing

Prawn fishing plays a role in the economy due to its high demand in domestic and international markets.

Ginger prawn ''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is a species of prawn in the family Penaeidae. It is also known as ''speckled shrimp'', ''brown shrimp'' and ''pink shrimp'' in English, ' in French, ' in Spanish, ''koraney chingri'' or ''honye chingri'' in India, ''gin ...

(''Metapenaeus kutchensis'') are endemic to the area, and their fishing is highly seasonal. During the monsoon season, which begins around July, the Little Rann is flooded and temporarily connected to the

Gulf of Kutch The Gulf of Kutch is located between the peninsula regions of Kutch and Saurashtra, bounded in the state of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. It opens towards the Arabian Sea facing the Osman Gulf. It is about 50 km wide at the entrance bef ...

, allowing passage of ginger prawn juveniles into the Rann. This marks the beginning of the prawn fishing season, which lasts from August to September. Fishermen are mostly seasonal workers, spending the majority of the year as salt pan workers. Ginger prawn fishing dates back to the early 16th century, when it was practiced by Muslim subsistence fishermen during the

Mughal dynasty The Mughal dynasty ( fa, ; ''Dudmân-e Mughal'') comprised the members of the imperial House of Babur ( fa, ; ''Khāndān-e-Āl-e-Bābur''), also known as the Gurkanis ( fa, ; ''Gūrkāniyān''), who ruled the Mughal Empire from to 1857. Th ...

. Their method, known as " Pagadia fishing" due to its being carried out by hand and barefoot, continues to be practiced by traditional fishermen in the region. Commercial prawn fishing only began in the mid-1900s after the use of bottom trawls became common.

Dam

The Government of Gujarat is planning to dam the 1.26 km stretch of Hadakiya Creek so that the water within it can be used for recreational and fisheries purposes.

References

* This text was originally published in the book Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment from Island Press. Also see: {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Rann Of Kutch Indomalayan ecoregions Flooded grasslands and savannas Grasslands of India Landforms of Gujarat Marshes of India Salt marshes Geography of Kutch district