Asian Water bird (waterfowl) Census
A two-day Asian Aquatic Bird Census (Asian Water bird (waterfowl) Census: AWC) – 2020 has been launched in Andhra Pradesh. It was carried out under the aegis of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) experts.
Important facts about Asian Water bird (waterfowl) Census
- The Asian Water bird (Waterfowl) Census is an annual event where thousands of volunteers in Asia and Australia count waterfowl/Water birds in their country’s wetlands.
- Every year in January, thousands of volunteers from Asia and Australia travel to the wetlands in their country and during this time they count the water birds / waterfowls. This citizen science program is called the Asian Water Bird Census
- This program was started in the year 1987.
- The Asian water bird census is an integral part of the Global Water bird Monitoring Program and the International Water bird Census (IWC), coordinated by Wetlands International.
- The Asian water bird census is conducted in 143 countries. It is concerned with collecting information about the number of waterfowl at wetland sites.
- Wetlands International is a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wetlands.
- In India, the Asian water bird census is conducted annually, by the Bombay Natural History Society and Wetlands International.
What are waterfowl/water birds ?
According to Wetlands International, water birds are ecologically defined as species of birds dependent on wetlands. These birds are considered an important health indicator of the wetlands of an area.
Benefit:
- The calculation not only reveals the actual number of birds but also gives an idea of the actual state of the wetlands, i.e. the high number of waterfowl indicates that a sufficient amount of food, resting, roosting and foraging of the birds in the wetland area Spots exist.
- The information collected helps promote the determination and management of internationally important sites such as nationally protected areas, Ramsar sites, East Asian – Australian Flyway Network sites, important bird and biodiversity areas.
- It also helps to implement the Convention on Migratory Species and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Source: The Hindu
