Bharat Dogra regrets we no longer wake up to the sweet chirping of birds as the bird population has dwindled rapidly across the world. Listing the reasons for the decline, he points out the situation can be reversed if forests, wetlands, grasslands are protected and organic farming is adopted.
Birds are the most endearing friends of humanity and waking up to their calls is such a delight. But we are hearing less often the Good Morning call of sparrows and seeing a dancing peacock is now a rare sight.
A recent study on bird population states that in the last five decades the bird population has declined by about three billion, or almost 30% in just two countries – the USA and Canada. The situation is not much better in Europe.
In India there have been several reports of large-scale deaths of birds in recent times. Thousands of birds were found dead in Sambhar Lake of Rajasthan in 2019. In 2021 we witnessed mass deaths of parrots in Faridkot, Punjab. In Thar Desert, power lines alone cause nearly a hundred thousand
deaths of birds in a year.
Different factors are responsible for bird deaths in different places, but the increasing threat to the winged creatures and the overall decline in their numbers is alarming.
Birds are endearing friends of humans and we can watch them for hours with delight. But more important is their usefulness to humanity and their role in maintaining ecological balance. Their role in pollination, dispersal of seeds and helping to control harmful pests by gobbling millions of them is invaluable, which we need to recognize. Even the less endearing birds perform the useful role as scavengers. So it is distressing to learn from the recently released annual report on State of the World’s Birds that out of the total number of about 11,000 known surviving species of birds in the entire world, nearly 48% or 5,245 are now believed to be experiencing a decline in their population. About 1481 or about 14% species face the threat of extinction.
A major reason for decline of birds is said to be the
overall fast declining natural forests, grasslands and wetlands. Monocultures, often of exotic trees, that are taking the place of natural forests cannot provide the same conducive conditions for a diversity of birds as provided by natural forests.
Ever since Rachel Carson sounded her grim warnings in 1962 in her classic book ‘Silent Spring’ regarding the terribly disastrous impact of chemical pesticides on birds, more and more evidence of the massive distress and mass deaths of birds due to toxic impacts of chemical pesticides are coming to light.
It has been found that impact of pesticides makes it difficult for several migratory birds to negotiate the long distances which they could earlier cover as a routine.
Another form of cruelty suffered by tens of millions of birds daily is being caught and trapped in small, narrow cages. Many poultry farms are known to keep birds in congested cages where some birds turn self-destructive.
Beautiful birds, living happily in nature, are trapped in very cruel ways and sometimes killed for meat. Trafficking of birds is quite common.
Human beings need to more kinder and protective towards birds and let them enjoy their freedom and their natural habitats.
Protection of wetlands, grasslands and natural forests; a big shift towards organic and natural farming; prevention of poaching and hunting and a huge reduction in the use of chemical pesticides can contribute to protecting birds.
[column size
overall fast declining natural forests, grasslands and wetlands.
Monocultures, often of exotic trees, that are taking the place of
natural forests cannot provide the same conducive conditions for
a diversity of birds as provided by natural forests.
Ever since Rachel Carson sounded her grim warnings in
1962 in her classic book ‘Silent Spring’ regarding the terribly
disastrous impact of chemical pesticides on birds, more and
more evidence of the massive distress and mass deaths of birds
due to toxic impacts of chemical pesticides are coming to light.
It has been found that impact of pesticides makes it
difficult for several migratory birds to negotiate the long distances which they could earlier cover as a routine.
Another form of cruelty suffered by tens of millions of
birds daily is being caught and trapped in small, narrow cages.
Many poultry farms are known to keep birds in congested cages
where some birds turn self-destructive.
Beautiful birds, living happily in nature, are trapped in
very cruel ways and sometimes killed for meat. Trafficking of
birds is quite common.
Human beings need to more kinder and protective towards birds
and let them enjoy their freedom and their natural habitats.
Protection of wetlands, grasslands and natural forests; a
big shift towards organic and natural farming; prevention of
poaching and hunting and a huge reduction in the use of chemical pesticides can contribute to protecting birds. =”overall fast declining natural forests, grasslands and wetlands.
Monocultures, often of exotic trees, that are taking the place of
natural forests cannot provide the same conducive conditions for
a diversity of birds as provided by natural forests.
Ever since Rachel Carson sounded her grim warnings in
1962 in her classic book ‘Silent Spring’ regarding the terribly
disastrous impact of chemical pesticides on birds, more and
more evidence of the massive distress and mass deaths of birds
due to toxic impacts of chemical pesticides are coming to light.
It has been found that impact of pesticides makes it
difficult for several migratory birds to negotiate the long distances which they could earlier cover as a routine.
Another form of cruelty suffered by tens of millions of
birds daily is being caught and trapped in small, narrow cages.
Many poultry farms are known to keep birds in congested cages
where some birds turn self-destructive.
Beautiful birds, living happily in nature, are trapped in
very cruel ways and sometimes killed for meat. Trafficking of
birds is quite common.
Human beings need to more kinder and protective towards birds
and let them enjoy their freedom and their natural habitats.
Protection of wetlands, grasslands and natural forests; a
big shift towards organic and natural farming; prevention of
poaching and hunting and a huge reduction in the use of chemical pesticides can contribute to protecting birds. 5/5″]
The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food.
[/column]
