Despite being a host to over 700 species of birds, Bhutan doesn’t have enough data on the important bird areas (IBAs) or bird habitats in the country. To update and create baseline data to study changes in the bird ecosystem, a community-based group called Bhutan Birdlife Society is conducting a survey on the IBAs in the country. The group recently held a consultative meeting with relevant stakeholders before starting the survey.
According to the Bhutan Birdlife Society, the last time the country saw any data on bird areas was about two decades ago when one of the world’s oldest non-governmental organizations for biodiversity, Birdlife International, conducted a survey and identified 23 IBAs in Bhutan.
Bhutan Birdlife Society is conducting the survey in the 23 identified IBAs to study if there are any new developments in the bird ecosystem.
“So far we have no record of conducting a national-level assessment of the IBAs. Therefore this consultative workshop is actually meant for assessing the 23 IBAs. That is the areas we have in Bhutan which is very important for birds. Conserving bird areas is very important because monitoring and assessing the 23 IBAs of Bhutan, it will contribute in understanding the biodiversity trend of our country, whether our country’s natural resource or biodiversity is declining or degraded or whether it is getting improved,” said Tshering Tobgay a member of the Bhutan Birdlife Society.
The community-based group is conducting the assessment of bird habitats with fund support of US$ 30,000. The project is supported by the GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP and implemented in partnership with the government. It also plans to revive one of the worst-hit habitats out of 23 identified IBAs after the survey. Formed as an informal group in 2015, Bhutan Birdlife Society currently has around 20,000 members from all walks of life.
Tshering Dendup
