The 22nd ‘Indian Birding Fair’ to be held on February 7-8 at Man Sagar Lake in the city will be dedicated to the conservation of wader birds. The 2-day fair will campaign for the conservation of as many as 84 species of wader birds found in the Indian subcontinent. This was informed by the President of the Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI), Anand Mishra at a press conference on Monday. He said the event will witness open-air sessions on conservation, quizzes, paintings, tattoo making, etc.
The fair is being organised by Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI) and is supported by Jaipur Zoo, Hem Chand Mahindra Trust, WWF, AU Bank, Trimurty, JMRPL and some overseas organisations.
The executive member of TWSI, Nishant Shukla said that one of the primary objectives of organising the annual Birding Fair is to create an awareness among the citizens regarding birds and the Man Sagar lake. Over the years, Jaipurites have seen a huge improvement in the Man Sagar lake and the quality of water.
The executive member of TWSI, Govind Yadav said that while some of the wader birds are fairly common like Black-Winged Stilt or Red-Wattled Lapwing, others face a delirious plight like Jerdon’s Courser which has not observed for past 8 years. Similarly, the Spoon-Billed Sandpiper breeds in South East Russia and migrates up to Bangladesh border annually. There are less than 150 of these birds left.
During the press conference, a publication dedicated to the wader birds was also released. The publication carries technical details by RG Soni and Harkirat Singh Sangha, two renowned experts on these species. Some experts from Britain, Mongolia and Bangladesh have also contributed to the publication. A wader-conservation group is also likely to be set up to take up conservation issues in the future.