Maharashtra: BNHS to undertake 3-year study to map migratory bird pathways

The study will be spread across 17 states that are a part of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) and include all key winter foraging and roosting sites of migratory birds, and critical bird habitats among others. It will also map migratory routes and bird sites.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will undertake a three-year study to develop a ‘Bird Sensitivity Mapping Tool’, a first-of-its-kind dossier which will be used by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), its statutory bodies and expert panels while vetting green clearances for renewable and other projects.

The tool, officials said, will aid in the selection of sites for renewable power sector to avoid high-risk bird collision areas.

Launched at the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13), the study seeks to help conserve migratory species globally. The conference was held in Gandhinagar earlier this month.

The study will be spread across 17 states that are a part of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) and include all key winter foraging and roosting sites of migratory birds, and critical bird habitats among others. It will also map migratory routes and bird sites. The data will include all key nesting sites.

The CAF is one of the nine migratory flyways identified under the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS). It covers migratory bird routes across 30 countries with around 80 per cent of them passing through India.

The first phase of the Rs 50-lakh project will begin from the western coast of India.

Migratory species, like flamingos, have been dying due to the presence of high-tension wires on their way along coastlines in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other parts of the western coast.

The Great Indian Bustard, which is the mascot of the CMS, has also been vulnerable in the power line corridors. Due to poor frontal vision, these birds often collide with power lines and poles, with several cases of them getting fatally wounded or electrocuted reported every year.