GODAVARI ESTUARY - ENVIRONMENT
News: Godavari
estuary in Andhra Pradesh has become prime habitat for Indian Skimmer, says
expert
What's in the news?
● Bombay
Natural History Society (BNHS) Deputy Director P. Sathiyaselvam has said that
the Godavari estuary in Andhra Pradesh has become a prime and safe habitat for
the Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis).
Key takeaways:
● The
bird has been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) Red list of endangered
species.
● The
Godavari estuary has become a prime
habitat for Indian Skimmer.
● On
January 10, as many as 250 Indian Skimmers were sighted in the southern part of
the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary.
● Indian
Skimmer migrates to the Godavari estuary for feeding.
● Mr.
Sathiyaselvam is the coordinator of the Asian Waterbird Census-2023, which is
under way in the Godavari estuary.
Indian Skimmers:
● A
thick, orange-yellow bill with a slightly longer lower mandible (jaw) is one of
the most striking features of the Indian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis).
● The
Indian skimmer grows to a length of 40-43 cm.
Distribution:
● More
widespread in winter, the Indian
skimmer is found in the coastal
estuaries of western and eastern India.
● It
occurs primarily on larger, sandy, lowland rivers, around lakes and adjacent
marshes and, in the non-breeding season, in estuaries and coasts.
● About
20% of the total population of fewer than 2,500 birds nest along river Chambal.
Threat:
● Its
population is declining primarily because of the degradation of wetland and riverine habitats.
● The
damming of the Chambal River, in
upstream Rajasthan, has adversely affected its population at National Chambal
Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, due to the dropping water levels allowing predators
and livestock access to breeding islands.
Conservation:
● IUCN Status
- Endangered
● In
2020, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will initiate a ‘Guardians of the Skimmer’ programme,
which is a community-based conservation initiative.
● BNHS
in collaboration with Bird Count India have also initiated ‘Indian Skimmer Count’ - a citizen science initiative.
Godavari Estuary:
● The
estuary, including 235.70 sq. km Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), is one of
the rarest eco-regions on the earth.
● It
is also home to India’s second-largest
mangrove cover after the Sundarbans.
● The
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary is inhabited by 115 endangered fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus), Olive Ridley
turtles, Indian smooth-coated otter, and saltwater crocodiles.
Asian Waterbird Census:
● The
Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was started in 1987.
● It
is an annual exercise to count the waterbirds and monitor the wetlands for conservation
of migratory birds and their habitats along the Central Asian Flyway.
● The
census is conducted by Wetlands International and forms part of a global
waterbird monitoring programme called the International Waterbird Census (IWC).
● In
India, AWC is coordinated by the
Wetlands International South Asia and the Bombay Natural History Society.