Call to stop overhunting of migratory birds
The experts have urged the federal and provincial govts to stop overhunting of migratory birds.
The annual migration of these birds has started and by mid-November they will be entering Pakistan after flying thousands of kilometres from Siberia and other Tundra regions.
Speaking at a webinar on “Migratory Birds: where we stand now”, the experts urged the provincial governments to take necessary measures to protect the ‘guest birds’ from overhunting, ensuring safe flying through Pakistan and resting on the lakes and ponds.
The webinar was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) on Saturday to mark the World Migratory Bird Day that falls on October 10. The experts included EV-K2 CNR Scientific Representative on Biosphere and Climate Change Ashiq ahmed Khan, IUCN Pakistan Country Head Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, WWF Pakistan Director Sindh and Balochistan Programme Dr Tahir Rasheed, Secretary Agriculture and Wildlife (Sindh) Abdul Rahim Soomro, Biodiversity and Habitat expert and former staff of the Ministry of Climate Change Umeed Khalid, Project Manager Biodiversity (Gilgit-Baltistan) IUCN Pakistan Saeed Abbas, Cholistan Institute of Desert Development Shazia Anjum and Prof Saleem Azam, a longtime hunter.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2020.