AND, that’s catastrophic for biodiversity loss – birds are a warning when something needs to change

The most unique feature on earth is existence of life and most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity.  Biodiversity is earth’s primary life support system and is vital for human survival. Biodiversity is originated from Greek word bios means life and diversity means variety. Biodiversity   refers to variability of living organism on earth, from human to microbes, fungi, and invertebrates. We are part of this web of life. The term includes all the terrestrial, marine, and aquatic organisms.  Biodiversity is earth’s support system and is vital for human survival.

Convention of Biological Diversity

Convention on Biological Diversity is a legally binding treaty, which came as an outcome of Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993. It is commonly known as “Biodiversity Convention”

The CBD has three main objectives

Conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use biodiversity without destroying it; and, to share fair and equitable benefits arising out of utilization of genetic resources.

India enacted Biological Diversity Act in 2002 for giving effect to the provisions of the CBD.

Birds and Biodiversity

Birds are one of the best-known elements of the natural world as birds vary in their diversity, habitats, abundance and distribution throughout the World.  Birds constitute one of the most important species in the biodiversity of earth. There are more than 10,000 species of birds alive today, and class Aves exemplifies diversity in form and function and bird are best-documented animal on the planet. Birds occupy every continent, utilize all habitat types, and display incredible variety in behavior and appearance.  They have adapted to some of Earth’s most extreme environments they play various roles as scavenger, pollinators, seeds dispersal agent and predators of insect pest and an important indicator to evaluate different habitats both qualitatively and quantitatively.

India’s biodiversity strength is well reflected with high number of bird species. 13% of the world’s bird fauna.  An estimate of about 1300 bird species are found in India. Birds vary in their diversity, habitats, abundance and distribution throughout the World. They are therefore an effective entry point for people to engage with the natural world and develop awareness of biodiversity .

They are sensitive to changes in the environment, and are one of the key indicators of the health of the ecosystem. They are an important part of the food chain and food web. Birds play an important role in maintaining ecological balance; they also indicate the level of pollution. Their help in pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds is well known.They are an important part of the food chain and food web.

Here we will look at some of these roles played by our feathered co -inhibiters on earth.

Value of Avian Biodiversity

Biodiversity plays a major role in maintaining the ecological balance of the ecosystem. Birds act as indicator species— they are sensitive to environmental disruptions and they serve as an early warning of trouble. . Birds are popular and better studied than any other comparable group of organism, and are excellent barometer for change in the Biodiversity. Ecosystem services refer to the benefits that humans derive from the natural world, and birds are key players in providing many of these benefits.  Some might not realize the tangible value of birds, but it would be foolish to underestimate how tough life would be without them. They play a significant role in agriculture. Bio-pesticides, fodder and fuel are some of the benefits that the farming communities can enjoy when there’s an ecological balance of biodiversity.

Many people derive great pleasure, fulfillment and inspiration from watching birds and listening to them. But birds are also an intricate component of ecosystems, which we need for our own survival.

As birds are high up in the food chain, they are also good indicators of the general state of our biodiversity. When they start disappearing, it means that something is wrong with our environment and that we need to take action.

Ecological Role Birds perform valuable ecosystem services like seed dispersal, insect and rodent control and scavenging. Many birds are sentinel species they warn us of current and impending problems, they could indicate high acidity levels in water, chemical contamination, arrival of new diseases etc.