Talk Abstracts of Symposium 2022

Talk Abstracts of Symposium 2022

Neha Sinha

Head, Conservation and Policy, Bombay Natural History Society

Does bird monitoring impact conservation action and policy?

Birds are amongst the most studied and monitored taxa in India. These activities are meant to enhance scientific knowledge and provide inputs to conservation. The conservation of birds involves at least two aspects – securing appropriate habitat, and ensuring that life-cycle needs like migration and movement are taken care of through safe passage. This talk will examine whether bird monitoring and studies are tying in with conservation. This will be attempted through two main methods. Firstly, a brief analysis of the new, proposed changes in wildlife law and policy in three main pieces of legislation- the Wildlife Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act, and the Biodiversity Act. Secondly, a look at case studies of birds and important bird habitats, and whether policy has responded to data-driven calls to save them. These include the Great Indian Bustard in Gujarat and Rajasthan, the case of Najafgarh wetland in Delhi, and the case of ecosensitive zones in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. which are backed by bird monitoring and data. Finally, this talk will explore a potential way ahead for a science-policy bridge, and how we have greater synthesis between monitoring efforts and bird conservation.

 

Ghazala Shahabuddin

Visiting Professor, Ashoka University

What birds are telling us and why it’s important?

India has a venerable history of birdwatching, ornithology and more recently, of bird monitoring, that has been taken up by citizens’ groups and scientists across the country. Ghazala will discuss the importance of bird monitoring particularly in a time of rapid environmental changes in India’s wetlands, coasts, mountains and cities; in this context she will highlight key monitoring initiatives and the key take-aways from such efforts. However, unearthing such changes in bird populations and communities through field data collection and analysis, is only the first step. Can birds be used to communicate the urgency of environmental conservation, at a time when suburban sprawl, forest degradation and climate change pose serious threats to nature? Communicating these issues effectively so as to influence development and regulatory policy is the next big challenge that faces bird-lovers and ecologists in the country.