Monsoon deluge gives ‘glimmer of hope’ for more winged guests
Pakistan's warm waters are expected to host a higher number of migratory birds this year, following record-breaking rains that have filled the country's otherwise polluted lakes with fresh water.
Copious rains, apart from causing widespread infrastructure and crop damage across the country, have replenished several lakes which host hundreds of thousands of winged guests in the winter.
To avoid the stinging winter of Siberia, millions of birds travel large distances every year to warmer waters in India and Pakistan.
However, their numbers have reduced over the past couple of decades, largely due to shrinking wetlands, polluted waters and indiscriminate hunting.
"The number of migratory birds will be comparatively higher this winter since there is more surface water available," said Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan technical adviser Mohammad Moazzam Khan. "More rains mean fresh water, expansion in lakes and impounds' radius, and, subsequently, more vegetation and fish, which are the key requirements of the migratory birds."
The recent rains, he explained, had helped fulfill the needs of fish-eating birds such as pelicans and egrets, as well as those reliant on plants and insects, such as ducks and waders.
Mahrban Brohi, a zoologist at the Ministry of Climate Change Ministry, concurred.
"This year's massive rains have increased the number of wetlands across the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, which means that a higher number of [migratory] birds will stay here, instead of flying on to India," he elaborated.
He said climate change effects, particularly low rains over the past several years, had gradually shrunk the wetlands and the radius of shallow waters in lakes, resulting in less vegetation and forcing the birds to fly towards Indian waters.
Fright and flight
According to a recent ecological survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there has been a 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in migratory birds coming to Pakistan in recent years.
Sitting on the bank of Manchhar Lake, once a favoured destination for the birds, Mohammad Yousaf Mallah, a local fisherman, recalled a time when the lake's waters would be teeming with migratory birds in the winter.
West of the Indus River in Dadu and Jamshoro and spread over 250 square kilometres, Manchhar is one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes. During the peak monsoon season, the lake can expand to 500 square km.
However, it has become a dumping ground for industrial waste generated in upper Sindh and a few areas of Balochistan, putting the lives of those who depend on its water at risk.
"Gone are the days when the shallow waters and banks of the lake used to be littered with all kinds of migratory birds," said Mallah.
Until a decade ago, he added, dozens of migratory bird species were found in and around the lake during the winter, with the number now down to six or seven.
Mallah, however, sees this year's monsoon downpour as a glimmer of hope. "Clean water means more fish, more grass, and ultimately more birds."
Echoing Mallah's words, Khan said other lakes and small water bodies in Sindh and Balochistan were also filled with cleaner water, which would attract more migratory birds this year.
Indiscriminate hunting
Every year, over 1 million birds migrate from Siberia, covering a grueling distance of 4,500km in search of warmer waters.
Although their ultimate destination is India, they make stopovers at lakes and water reservoirs in Sindh and Balochistan.
These birds include houbara bustards, cranes, teals, pintails, mallards, geese, spoonbills, waders, and pelicans.
Arab royals frequently visit Pakistan at the invitation of politicians and government officials to hunt them, despite opposition from environmentalists and locals.
The unchecked hunting, however, has endangered several rare species, mainly the houbara bustard, a prized target for Arab royals.
The federal government, which sees the practice of hosting royals for these hunts as a "cornerstone" of its Middle East policy, has recently issued fresh permits to several royals from Arab states.
At least two provincial governments - Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa- have repeatedly opposed the practice, saying the hunting sprees disturb local wildlife and pose threats to several migratory birds. Anadolu Agency
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2020.