Pallikarnai Marsh Reserve Forest
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Overview
Pallikaranai Marsh is a freshwater marsh in southern Chennai, Tamil Nadu, one of the last natural wetlands left inside the city.
It absorbs floodwater from the surrounding catchment and drains it to the sea through the Okkiyam Madavu and Buckingham Canal. Much of it was lost to dumping and construction before a part was protected as a reserve forest.
It was designated a Ramsar site in 2022.
Geography and key facts
- Southern Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Freshwater urban marsh
- Reserve forest; flood buffer for Chennai
- Ramsar site (2022)
Why it matters for UPSC
Urban wetlands and Chennai's 2015 floods are a common GS-3 case study.
Note for UPSC
Ramsar site (wetland of international importance), Tamil Nadu.
Ramsar sites come up as wetland–state pairs and in questions on conservation status.
Asked in PYQs
No question in our Prelims bank names Pallikarnai Marsh Reserve Forest yet.
Key facts
- Type
- Ramsar site
- State / UT
- Tamil Nadu
- Coordinates
- 12.938°N, 80.215°E
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- Forests, Wetlands, Mangroves and Coral Reefs (map lesson)