Migratory birds have wings clipped |
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KATHMANDU: The World Migratory Bird Day was marked today in Nepal by organising various programmes to raise awareness on the feathered creatures.
The day with the theme: ‘Land use: Changes from a bird’s-eye’ is part of a UN-backed global annual campaign for the conservation of birds from around the world that make their way to distant lands.
Nepal hosts around 62 species of summer migratory birds and 150 winter migratory birds. According to the Bird Conservation Nepal, the organisation that led today’s celebrations, 50 billion species of birds (around 19 per cent of the world’s 10,000 species) migrate to far-off lands every year.
Although migratory birds are exposed to numerous threats, human land use pattern has by far the most telling effect. Deforestation, intensive agriculture, production of bio-fuel, reclaiming of land, urbanisation and mining directly threaten the habitats of migratory birds affecting their numbers on a global scale.
“The natural habitat of birds is increasingly under threat due to unsustainable development activities,” said Dr Hemsagar Baral, senior ornithologist at Himalayan Nature, another organisation that is working in the sector. “During their journeys spanning thousands of kilometres, migratory birds cross many borders as well as ecosystems,” said Dr Hum Bahadur Gurung, the BCN chief executive. To prevent the birds from disappearing forever, their habitat needs to be conserved, he added.
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