422 Indian wetlands and grasslands on list of Central Asian Flyway sites, 19 from Gujarat

The report has been prepared after holding national consultations and studying existing databases of Birdlife International, various treatises and memorandums of understanding among CAF nation states, among others, in 2022-23.

The report stated that “the Central Asian Flyway, one of the world’s nine great flyways used by migratory birds to travel between their breeding and non-breeding grounds, is still the most neglected in terms of knowledge and conservation action”.

It added, “…migratory birds are important sentinels of the health of our environment. As they travel, they rely on sites and landscapes often thousands of kilometres apart to rest and refuel for the next leg of their extraordinary journeys. Decline in migratory bird populations signal environmental degradation of the same sites and landscapes that are so important for millions of people for food, clean water and other environmental services, particularly for climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

The report praises India’s proposal to develop an institutional framework in the form of an initiative for conservation of birds and their habitats in the CAF region. The Birdlife International said its report provides a “factual baseline” for initiating such a process. India’s proposal to set up a CAF secretariat office is also scheduled to be taken up for discussion during COP14, which will go on till February 17.

The report stated that 605 species of migratory birds from 84 families, including waterbirds, raptors, landbirds and seabirds, use CAF that covers Eurasia between the Arctic and the Indian Ocean. It included a working list of 1717 “internationally important sites of migratory birds”. The list included 422 sites in India, the highest among all CAF region states.

The 422 Indian sites include 54 in Assam, 38 in Uttarpradesh, 33 in Karnataka, 29 each in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, 27 in Arunachal Pradesh and 19 each in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Other Indian states with significant numbers of such sites are Jammu and Kashmir (18), Andhra Pradesh (14), Bihar (14), Kerala (9), Odisha (8), Himachal Pradesh (8) and Kerala (7), among others. These sites, the report stated, hosts more than 20,000 birds or one per cent of biogeographical population of a migratory species.

The list of 19 sites in Gujarat include Banni grassland, Chhari Dhand wetland, Flamingo City and Naliya grassland in Kutch, Bhal area abutting Anand, Ahmedabad, Botad and Bhavnagar districts, Charakala Saltworks in Devbhumi Dwarka, Marine National Park, Khijadia Bird Sanctuary in Jamnagar, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary and Thol Wildlife Sanctuary in Ahmedabad, Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Blackbuck National Park and saltworks in Bhavnagar, Wild Ass Sanctuary in Surendranagar, wetlands of Kheda and Gosabara-Mokarsagar wetland complex in Porbandar.

The working list enlists 345 such sites from Russia, 127 from Kazakhstan, 125 from China, 99 from Iran, 83 from Mongolia, 51 from Uzbekistan and 49 from Turkmenistan.