Odisha strengthens its conservation-led tourism focus
Chilika Bird Festival
The 6th National Chilika Bird Festival 2026 begins in Odisha. This year’s festival also marks enhanced international engagement, with the participation of foreign tour operators and birding experts from key source markets.
The Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha, in collaboration with the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, inaugurated the 6th National Chilika Bird Festival 2026 at the State Convention Hall, Lok Seva Bhawan, Bhubaneswar. The festival said to strengthen Odisha’s leadership in promoting conservation-led tourism, community participation, and sustainable destination development.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Pravati Parida, Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Tourism, Women & Child Development, and Mission Shakti, Government of Odisha, as the Chief Guest. The event was attended by MLAs, senior government officials, conservation experts, ornithologists, representatives of the travel trade, community leaders, and delegates from across India and abroad.
In her address, the Deputy Chief Minister highlighted the ecological and cultural significance of Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon and a Ramsar wetland of international importance. She emphasised that the National Chilika Bird Festival has emerged as a key platform for conservation awareness, scientific knowledge exchange, and responsible tourism promotion.
The festival aims to bring together experts, ornithologists, wildlife photographers, students, and nature enthusiasts, while also showcasing Odisha’s strong model of community-led conservation, particularly at Mangalajodi, internationally recognised for its successful community-managed birding initiative.
This year’s festival also marks enhanced international engagement, with the participation of foreign tour operators and birding experts from key source markets, including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, England, the Netherlands, and Taiwan, strengthening Chilika’s positioning on the global birding and ecotourism map.
A major highlight of the festival is said to be the introduction of the Chilika Boat Race, led by the fisherman community, celebrating the living cultural traditions of the lake and reinforcing the role of local communities as custodians of the ecosystem. The festival further includes focused capacity-building and awareness sessions for boatmen and educational programmes for school students from the Chilika region, aimed at strengthening long-term conservation stewardship.
The inaugural programme also featured the release of conservation-focused publications - including a pocket guide based on observations of around 150 million birds, a magazine on the life of flamingos, and a booklet on bird conservation in Odisha, videos on Chilika Lake and satellite telemetry of Greater Flamingos, and the signing of an MoU between the State Wildlife Organization and the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management. The MoU aims at the development, marketing and planning support of ecotourism products in the state. Members of boat associations from Mangalajodi and staff of the Chilika Wildlife Division were felicitated in recognition of their contribution to conservation.
During the programme, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Tourism Department, Balwant Singh, outlined the key initiatives of the department and highlighted the immense opportunities and potential of Chilika Lake as a premier ecotourism destination. PCCF & HoFF Suresh Pant emphasised Chilika’s critical role in Odisha’s wildlife wealth and underscored its significance in sustaining the livelihoods of local communities.
