The house sparrow that was declared the ‘State Bird of Delhi’ in 2012 is edging towards extinction due to the lack of an emotional connect.
Factors:
- “Common sparrows are going extinct because of mindless urbanisation.
- They are losing not just their natural habitats but also the essential human touch they need and thrive upon.
- “The current generation is so much surrounded by technology that they have forgotten about nature.
- The indifference caused by a lack of emotional connect has pushed these birds to the edge of extinction.
- The conservationist also attributed the depleting population of sparrows to the increased use of packed food, insecticides in farming, and changing lifestyles, resulting in an inadequate availability of food for the birds.
- “Earlier women used to clean grain outside their houses and sparrows would have plenty of food from there. Also the severe use of insecticides in farming is killing sparrows’ primary food source in insects and grains,” Mr. Dilawar has said.
- According to him, sparrows are also rendered homeless due to the “matchbox-styled” architecture that makes it difficult for the birds to locate pockets to build nests.
Nature Forever Society:
- The Nature Forever Society (NFS) has been working for the conservation of house sparrows and other common flora and fauna since 2006.
- Started by Mohammed Dilawar (founder and president), NFS was registered in 2008.
- The mission of the Nature Forever Society is to involve citizens in the conservation movement in India.
- To achieve this NFS has been working by launching initiatives which are simple and have far reaching conservation value.
- It is a non-profit organization.
- Since it started NFS has spearheaded programs and projects that are making a visible difference to sparrow populations in cities. Some of the initiatives started by Nature Forever Society are CBMI, World Sparrow Day, Project SOS, NFS Sparrow Awards and Adopt a Feeder and Nest program, among others.
Common Bird Monitoring of India:
- The Common Bird Monitoring of India program, is a pioneer project and the first of its kind in the India. Launched in Mumbai, India on the occasion of World Sparrow Day on 20 March 2012, its objective is to monitor common birds found in India.
- A Nature Forever Society initiative, the program is aimed at monitoring, through detailed mapping, the 18 common bird species found across the country such as the house sparrows, house crow, rock pigeon and rose-ringed parakeet, as well as the lesser known ashy prinia and hoopoe.
- It is a unique project because it is by the people, for the people and of the people. In addition to India, the project also aims to help map the common bird species in the entire Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.