Explanation:

Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park is under severe threat due to the planned diversion of freshwater from the Brahmani river basin.

Location: Kendrapara district in Odisha. It became a Ramsar site in 2002 (the second site after Chilika Lake in Odisha). Rivers: Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala. It is India’s second-largest mangrove forest after the Sundarbans in West Bengal. Species: Estuarine Crocodile (the largest population in the Indian subcontinent), Indian python, king cobra, black ibis, etc. The floral diversity in Bhitarkanika is the 2nd largest after Papua New Guinea. It is the only major mangrove patch of the State of Odisha.