World Wildlife Week: ‘Birds an integral part of ecosystem’

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 5

Pushpa Gujral Science City (PGSC) celebrated World Wildlife Week (which is on October 2-8) by organising two webinars on World Habitat Day and Birds at Science City, which were attended by about 200 students from different educational institutions in the state. Today he

Giving introductory remarks on the occasion, Dr Neelima Jerath, Director-General, Pushpa Gujral Science City, said birds were most beautiful and important co-inhabitants of human beings on the earth and constitute an integral part of the ecosystem. They rendered several eco-system services being pollinators, seed dispersal agents, natural biological agents for pest control, providers of protein rich food and some of them act as scavengers.

Dr Neelima said birds were intelligent species and exhibited cultural, social and a variety of courtship behaviours through their songs and dances. They also had an important aesthetic value.

She said 1,357 bird species had been reported from the country, out of which about 400 bird species were found in the state. However, changes in climate and habitat could adversely affect them, hence the need to provide a proper habitat to these beautiful birds. She shared the science city was getting a bird survey of its campus conducted through World Wildlife Fund.

Rakesh Khatri, also known as the Nest Man of India, who founded the Eco Roots Foundation, Delhi, was the key speaker during the webinar on World Habitat Day. Rakesh has been recognised by the Limca Book of Records for making the maximum number of handmade nests.

He delivered a talk on “Save the Sparrows: How to build a nest”. During his talk, Khatri said the house sparrow is one of the most ubiquitous birds and is one of the most familiar winged companions of human beings. The population of house sparrows was on the decline and the reason was the loss of habitat due to changes in the environment and modern lifestyle.

Further, he informed that the Eco Roots Foundation had initiated a step to save these birds by making handmade birdhouses. Till date, more than 125,000 jute nests and 40,000 tetra-pack nests had been made.

Gitanjali Kanwar, Coordinator, Harike wetland unit of Rivers, Wetland and Water Policy of India, said birds were an important part of urban wildlife. Urban birds were showing a significant change in species composition and numbers compared to the last few decades which was mostly due to anthropogenic activities/set-ups and their impact on biodiversity. Further, she made a presentation of 65 birds surveyed till date on the science city campus. She emphasised the need to organise nature walks for the students in the science city to make them learn about different bird species, their identification, voices, etc.

Dr Rajesh Grover, Director, Pushpa Gujral Science City, said birds helped in maintaining the ecological balance as these ate small insects and acted in the natural pest control process. The heritage trees at the science city also provided a natural habitat to birds, he added.