GUWAHATI:
The first-ever Asian Waterbird Census 2022 at Umiam Lake in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya has identified eight species comprising 102 waterbirds.
The census was conducted by the Meghalaya Biodiversity Board (MBB) with the help of Assam Forest Department and Aaranyak on February 19 at five sites – Umsaw, Umbir, Umiush, Mawlyndep and Umiam covering wetland areas of Umiam – in the state. NGOs and BMC (Biodiversity Management Committee) members also participated in the exercise.
“As per e-birth checklist of citizen science, more than 40 waterbirds were listed in Ri-Bhoi district,” MBB member secretary BMN Luikhan told The Meghalayan.
“This is the first census we conducted in Meghalaya. This survey is usually conducted from mid-January to early February. But we were late this time. We have also a lack of resources to conduct the survey,” Luikhan said.
Luikhan revealed that the survey is usually conducted during a particular time of the year – mid-January to February – to study the population of the birds inhabiting the lake, but, this time, the team was late in surveying the bird’s ecosystem at the periphery of the lake.
Assam chief conservator of forest (research and education) Sonali Ghosh, who also took part in the census, said, “Asian Waterbird Census is part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC). This citizen science is supporting conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds worldwide between January and early February each year.”
Aaranyak’s senior scientist and head of the Elephant Conservation Division, Dr Bibhuti Lahkar, said that they imparted training to the team to conduct the census.
“This was not the proper time to conduct the census. If it was conducted between January and early February, more waterbirds would have been spotted,” Dr Lahkar said.
The team, which will again conduct a similar survey next year, stated that it was a good initiative which will go a long way in identifying and preserving the different species of birds inhabiting the Umiam lake.