NAN-H-57
Migration
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, May 11, 2017 (NAN) The Director, Technical Programmes, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr Onoja Daniel, on Thursday urged communities located on birds’ migratory flyways to stop destroying their habitats as they were indicators of an healthy environment.
Daniel gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the 2017 worldwide celebration of the World Migratory Bird Day held on Wednesday with the theme ”Their Future Our Future.”
According to him, the celebration enables creation of awareness about the migratory birds, especially on how they operate and their routes.
“The first thing to know is that the habitat of the migratory birds is an indicator of how healthy an environment is.
“Whatever happens to them in the cause of their migration also happens to us humans within the environs eventually.
“If the birds’ habitats have been destroyed and they could not rest and find food they die off and their population reduces.
“In the same way the communities around the area suffer because of environmental degradation while experiencing deaths and hardship,” he said.
Daniel urged Nigerians to understand the migratory pattern so that they would be cautious in preserving the environment.
According to him, the birds migrate from Europe to Africa through what is known as Africa-Euroasian Migratory flyways.
He said that the birds often leave Europe during winter for the African and Asian continents where they find food and breed before returning to Europe during the summer.
Daniel said that the water birds come to Africa through the East of the Atlantic Ocean while the terrestrial birds come through the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea.
He said on getting to Nigeria, they find rest at the Hadejia-Nguru Conservation Wetlands.
The director said that as the birds migrate, many are caught during hunting while others get stuck to trees after gum and glue are deliberately placed to entrap them.
Daniel said that the 2017 theme was tied to the Sustainable Development Goals so that people would be mindful of the birds and stop hunting them or destroying their habitat.
According to Birdlife International, the global authority on the status of birds, more than 40 per cent of migratory species are declining and nearly 200 are now classified as globally threatened. (NAN)
ACA/GOM/OJO
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(Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Mufutau Ojo)