Assessment of Environmental Degradation of Kalar Kahar Lake, Salt Range, Pakistan Due to Anthropogenic Activities and its Remedial Measures

Kalar Kahar Lake is one of the important high altitude lakes located in the Salt Range of the Pakistan. It is a famous tourist spot and got a unique status among the wetlands due to residence of a large number of migratory birds. Today this lake is facing environmental degradation due to increase in local population and tourism. A number of water samples were collected from the lake and recharging springs from April 2008 to July 2010 and analyzed by adopting the World Health Organization recommended guidelines. The results indicate that the physical and biological quality of the lake water is greatly degraded due to the sewage water entering in it mostly from the food supplying shops located in the south of the lake and runoff generated from populated area in the north and western boundary of the lake. The chemical quality of the lake is also alarming due to the increasing trend of the contaminants. The chemical quality of the lake water varies greatly over the year which is probably due to the dilution process caused by the heavy rainfall during monsoon period in the catchment area of the lake. The polluted water of Kalar Kahar Lake is a great threat to the life of migratory birds. Huge amount of sedimentation in the lake has greatly reduced the total storage capacity of the lake which is creating hindrance in safe boating facility for tourists especially during the dry season. Suggestions for rehabilitation of Lake Environment have also been given.