Migratory birds flock to Sindh

WWF official says 'administrative negligence', climate change a threat to these birds

KARACHI:

Migratory birds have flocked to the wetland and coastal areas of Pakistan as they start their annual migration from colder regions, especially Siberia, in search of food and a warmer climate.

Some of these migratory birds include pelicans, mallards, cranes, ducks, geese, swans, and waders. These birds leave their habitat in winter after their food – fish and seaweed – gets submerged under a thick layer of ice.

According to WWF-Pakistan official Moazzam Khan, these birds enter Pakistan through the Indus Flyway Zone, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Some of these birds move to wetlands while others flock to the plains, he added.

In Sindh, they flock to the areas of Keenjhar Lake, Haleji Lake along with the coastal areas of Karachi, Badin, and Nagarparkar. They stay in Pakistan for a period of four months i.e. from December to March. Over their four months stay in Pakistan, some species also reproduce here.

Khan, a technical adviser to the WWF, said the number of these birds has been declining due to climate change and gross administrative negligence. He said the wetlands and waterways have shrunk over the years, adding that hunting is also one of the factors in the decrease of their number.

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He added that measures are underway to provide a safe environment to these birds through plantation drives and a ban on hunting.

Sindh Wildlife Assistant Conservator Mumtaz Ali Soomro said that after a decrease in the number of migratory birds a few years ago, the department has banned the hunting of these birds.

He said the department also provides for the birds at Keenjhar and Haleji Lake in the province. The department has formed two teams to conduct a census of the migratory birds and will compile its reports after six weeks, he added.