4 months ago
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The yearly Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) that was conducted successful the wetlands of Thiruvananthapuram territory precocious recorded a marginal summation successful wide waterbird population.
However, this masked a degradation successful habitats, with respective cardinal sites showing a stark decline.
The survey, a associated inaugural of WWF-India, the Trivandrum Birding Team, and the Social Forestry Division of Thiruvananthapuram nether the Kerala Forest department, mobilised 50 volunteers crossed 11 sites, including a recently added determination adjacent Technopark.
The census yielded a full number of 4,868 birds from 73 species, of which 37 were migratory.
While the district-wide number showed a slim increase, a declining inclination was observed astatine 4 of the 11 sites: Punchakkari wetlands, Akkulam Lake, Veli Lake and beach, and the Kannammoola canal. The Kadhinamkulam-Perumathura wetlands emerged the astir populous tract with 1,200 birds from 37 species, a important leap from 306 birds past year. The Pazhanchira wetlands adjacent Attingal were adjacent with 1,183 birds from 38 species.
In contrast, the Punchakkari wetlands, a accepted birding hub, recorded a drastically debased number of 358 birds from 34 species, arsenic compared to past year’s 855 birds from 44 species.
Volunteers cited unscientific infrastructure development, aggravated photograph tourism, and different anthropogenic pressures arsenic superior causes for this decline.
Sites specified arsenic Akkulam Lake and the Kannammoola canal besides reported debased diverseness and counts, with precocious levels of contamination from coagulated waste, liquid effluents, and invasive works taxon severely impacting situation quality.
Site-specific threats
The census study highlighted multiple, site-specific threats. The Punchakkari-Vellayani analyzable was suffering situation nonaccomplishment owing to infrastructure and unregulated tourism. At the Aruvikkara reservoir, visibility and entree for birds was hampered by a obstruction overrun with invasive creepers specified arsenic Mikania, alongside integrative pollution. Akkulam Lake showed a dominance of a azygous species, indicating debased situation diversity.
A wide contented was the proliferation of invasive works taxon specified arsenic h2o hyacinth and Siam weed crossed aggregate wetlands.
The information constituent towards an urgent request for integrated wetland absorption strategies that code pollution, modulate unsustainable tourism, negociate invasive species, and impact section communities successful conservation efforts to safeguard captious waterbird habitats.
“The little counts successful circumstantial sites are a nonstop indicator of situation degradation and disruptive quality interventions,” A.K. Sivakumar and Mohit M.G., coordinators of the census for the superior district, said. “However, the recorded beingness of 37 migratory taxon crossed the territory underscores the value of these wetlands and calls for urgent, prioritised conservation measures for each sites.”
