BNHS to study migratory birds at six wetlands in Maharashtra
The Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous body under the Maharashtra forest department’s mangrove cell, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for studying the habitats and migratory routes of birds at six wetlands –Nandur-Madhmeswar Sanctuary, Gangapur Dam, Jaikwadi Bird Sanctuary, Hatnur Dam, Ujjani Reservoir and Visapur Dam
The Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous body under the Maharashtra forest department’s mangrove cell, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for studying the habitats and migratory routes of birds at six wetlands –Nandur-Madhmeswar Sanctuary, Gangapur Dam, Jaikwadi Bird Sanctuary, Hatnur Dam, Ujjani Reservoir and Visapur Dam.
The project has been approved by the Maharashtra government at a cost of ₹2.77 crore, and is an extension of already ongoing research by BNHS under the banner of ‘Elucidating the status of migratory waterbirds in ornithologically important wetlands of Maharashtra; Central Asian Flyway perspective.’
“For the past couple of years, we have been carrying out bird monitoring and ringing exercises at coastal wetlands in the state. Now we are taking that work forward and turning our attention to important wetlands in the interior regions,” said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), mangrove cell.
“Migratory birds coming to Maharashtra mainly use the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) which is one of the major migratory routes for birds visiting the Indian Subcontinent from Central Asia and this study will help in understanding the population dynamics, movement and dispersal patterns, and threats to various migratory birds using CAF,” the mangrove foundation said in a statement Monday.
State to set up task force to assess wetlands
The environment department announced on Monday that it will be setting up a task force to conduct a fresh assessment of wetlands in the state. In September 2017, the Union environment ministry notified the new Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, which excluded wetlands in coastal regulation zones (CRZ) as well as salt pans from their ambit. The rules also imposed the responsibility of identifying wetlands on states themselves, based on the National Wetland Atlas.
Recently, the state government told the Bombay high court that there are no wetlands in Nandurbar, Parbhani and Nagpur and even in Raigad’s Uran taluka, despite the National Wetland Atlas clearly marking out such water bodies in these districts. The move had raised the hackles of activists who saw it as an attempt to open up man-made wetlands and salt pans for real estate.
“We will be looking at all the wetlands, even those that may have been left out in our own assessments, for our latest inventory in an attempt to protect as many wetlands as possible across Maharashtra. The environment minister is already planning to meet collectors from all the districts in the state to conduct a fresh exercise to identify and demarcate wetlands that are left out. We will be setting up a task force to get this done in a time-bound manner,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, principal secretary, environment department.