Survey at Alappuzha wetlands hints at a decline in number of visiting waterbirds.

Why in news?

• A survey conducted as part of the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2023 shows the populations of some migratory waterbirds, especially duck species visiting the Alappuzha region of Kerala, are falling.

Highlights of the Survey

• Major Missing Species: Duck species like Northern Shoveler, Common teal and Eurasian wigeon, sighted in the revious surveys, were totally missing this time around.
• Climate change has affected the number of birds visiting the region. However, the precise impact of climate change on bird migration requires more detailed studies.

About Asian Waterbird Census

• It is a citizen-science programme supporting conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds worldwide.
• AWC is part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC)coordinated by Wetlands International. AWC runs in parallel with other regional programmes of the IWC in Africa, Europe, West Asia, the Neotropics and the Caribbean.
• AWC in India:
  • It was initiated in the Indian subcontinent in 1987and since then has grown rapidly to cover major regions of Asia, from Afghanistan eastwards to Japan, Southeast Asia and Australasia.
  • In India, AWC is jointly coordinated by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wetlands International.

Significance

• It gives an idea of the birds at the wetland and the health of the wetland; the more the waterbirds, the more suitable the wetland is.
• It helps in better implementation of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)and the Convention on Biological Diversity‘s (CBD).