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KBA Profile: Ithikkara River National Site Name Ithikkara River English Name KBA delineation Catchment Focal area delineation No Site description The Ithikkara River is a small river draing the relatively low elevation Kulathhoopuzha hills Kulathhoopuzha Hills, in the southern Western Ghats in Kerala. The catchment is impacted by sand mining and is almost entirely converted to plantations, agriculture and urban areas, though there are some remianing areas of riparian forest. The river empties into the brackish Paravur Lake before reaching the Arabian Sea. In additon to containing a number of threatend freshwater fishes, the KBA also supports an endemic species of freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium madhusoodani, DD) which is found in the lower reaches of the river. Management required at catchment scale Yes Management required at focal area within catchment No - the endmic species of shrimp requires catchment management KBA Trigger Species Group Species Criterion1 Criterion2 Criterion3 Fishes Hyporhamphus xanthopterus VU 8414.933908 NA Fishes Monopterus fossorius EN 18181.75102 NA Fishes Pseudosphromenus dayi VU 16673.51639 NA Fishes Puntius mahecola NA 16651.9995 NA Molluscs Paludomus annandalei NA 4088.831686 NA Notes Molluscs Paludomus sulcatus NA 13988.01477 NA Odonata Epithemis mariae NA 32143.88717 NA Plants Anaphalis beddomei VU NA NA Plants Dimeria hohenackeri EN NA NA Plants Farmeria metzgerioides VU NA NA Shrimps Macrobrachium madhusoodani NA 629.8519085 715 Endemic to KBA Shrimps Caridina jalihali NA NA NA New record for restricted rangee species (only other record from type locality near Chennai). Will qualify as restricted range (Criterion 2). Plants Anaphalis leptophylla VU NA NA Plants Anaphalis wightiana VU NA NA Protected Areas Overlap with KBA Name Designation Desig. Type Status PA Management Focus Shendurney Sanctuary National Designated No freshwater biodiversity management Western Ghats World Heritage Site International Inscribed No freshwater biodiversity management Potential KBA Stakeholders* Kerala State Biodiversity Board River Research Center SN College, Kollam Fatima Matha National College, Kollam Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala M G College, Thiruvananthapuram Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghats Regional Centre KBA Freshwater Habitats 5.1 Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks(includes waterfalls) 5.4 Bogs Marshes Swamps Fens Peatlands[generally over 8ha] 5.7 Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools(under 8ha) 5.8 Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools(under 8ha) 5.14 Permanent Saline Brackish or Alkaline Lakes 5.16 Permanent Saline Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools 9.10 Estuaries Threats to KBA Threats (IUCN Classification Scheme) Notes 1.1 Housing & urban areas 1.2 Commercial & industrial areas 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops Including oil palm plantations 3.2 Mining & quarrying Sand mining from river. Clay mining in the lower catchment, and granite quarrying in the upper catchment. 7.2 Dams & water management/use Water extraction for drinking (Anchal) 7.3 Other ecosystem modifications Water diversion from the river to artificial fish aquaculture ponds 9.1 Domestic & urban waste water 9.2 Industrial & military effluents 9.3 Agricultural & forestry effluents 9.4 Garbage & solid waste Conservation actions for KBA Conservation actions (IUCN Classification Scheme) In place Needed Notes 1.2 Resource & habitat protection Yes Protection of shrimp habitats from sand and clay mining 2.1 Site/area management Yes Catchment management 3.1 Species management Yes Research into the endemic shrimp Macrobrachium madhusoodani, and Caridina jalihali which is only known from this KBA and another location near Chennai. 4.1 Formal education Yes Local Panchayats, plantation owners 4.2 Training Yes Clay and sand mining companies 4.3 Awareness & communications Yes All stakeholders 5.3 Private sector standards & codes Yes Sand, Clay and Granite mining, and plantations 5.4 Compliance and enforcement Yes Implementation of Wetland (Conservation and Management) Act 2010 & Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974. Food Security Used for food security Score Notes 1. Subsistence Optional/alternative 2 Essential staple 2 Emergency 0 2. Commercial Local 2 Regional 1 National 0 3.Migrant fishers 1 Notes Mostly fish Other Other biodiversity Protected areas overview References 1. Jayachandran, K.V. 2001. Palaemonid prawns - biodiveristy, taxonomy, biology and management. Science Publishers Inc., USA. 2. Jayachandran, K.V., Thomas, T. and Raji, A.V. 2008. Caridinian shrimp resources of Kerala waters. Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy. 74(2):47-50. 3. River Research Centre. 2013. Report on Monitoring of Fish Diversity of Rivers in Kerala. Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Thiruvananthapuram. 98 pp. 4. Unnikrishan,V., Pillai, P.M. and Jayachandran, K.V. 2011. Macrobrachium madhusoodani sp. nov. (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) from Ithikkara River, Kerala, India. Crustaceana 84: 123-124. Acknowledgments Ali, A., Amitha Bachan, K.H., Anatha, L., Dahanukar, N., Jayachandran, K.V., Molur, S., Nameer, P.O., Raghavan, R., Subbramanian, K.A., Rehel, S.M. and Vinod, T.R. * Potential KBA stakeholders have not been contacted in any official capacity nor have they endorsed the KBA – they are a list of potential stakeholders to inform any organisation or individual who may want to undertake conservation activities on freshwater biodiversity in this KBA