Delhi to participate in City Nature Challenge

To take part in the challenge, one needs to simply download the GPS-enabled iNaturalist app and submit photographs between April 28 and May 1

Delhi will take part in the City Nature Challenge for the first time this year, during which volunteers and environmentalists will set out across the Capital over a four-day period starting April 28 to record the flora and fauna found around them.

Organisers said the photo simply needs to be of natural flora and fauna – anything from insects and fungi to flowers and trees. (HT Photo)

First organised in the United States in 2016, the global annual event has served as a census for flora and fauna in some cities over the past few years, and has become a citizen-science phenomenon. Delhi is one of 30 Indian cities participating in the event this year, in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society, World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India), and the Naturalist School.

To take part in the challenge, one needs to simply download the GPS-enabled iNaturalist app and submit photographs between April 28 and May 1.

“The photo simply needs to be of natural flora and fauna – and that means anything from insects and fungi to flowers and trees,” an organiser said, adding that the app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest the species name, with people from the community also collaborating to confirm these suggestions.

Suchi Govindarajan, communications head of The Naturalist School, said the challenge can help people discover the nature lover in them. “Indian cities have more biodiversity than we realise. With the iNaturalist app, just about anyone can record an observation and learn more about what they have seen,” she said.

Sohail Madan, assistant director, Bombay Natural History Society in Delhi, said the challenge gives the possibility for NGOs and environmentalists to gather data, which can be used to carry out long-term studies, particularly for fixed geographical areas.

“Even more than that, it is an exercise for citizens to use nature in helping them reduce their stress, calm anxiety and slow their pace of life in these urban concrete jungles. Indeed, the data from earlier events has already contributed to a number of studies and some rare sightings – and this time, researchers who study Indian species will also benefit from the challenge,” he said.