Lok Sabha Question No. 2020 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-21
Subject: Migratory Birds
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: AJAY NISHAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2020 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2018

## Migratory Birds

## 2020.    SHRI AJAY NISHAD:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the names of the places of the country with season in which the migratory birds visit usually;
- (b) whether there has been a decline in their number; and
- (c) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to increase their number and facilitate their stay?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) Migratory species are omnipotent in nature and are found in Protected as well as  non-Protected  Areas,  both  urban  and  village  areas.  The  winter  visitors arrive in  India  by  October and stay till March/April. The summer migrants start  coming to  India from mid-March and occurs in India till August. The important  species  of  migratory  birds  that  visit  India  and  their  important breeding ground outside India include:
- (b) and (c) Although  there  is  no  specific  assessment  conducted  by  the  Ministry  with respect to population of migratory birds visiting India recently, assessments by  Wetlands  International  in  the  past  indicated  that  some  migratory  bird showed  a  decreasing  trend,  whereas  some  species  indicated  a  stable population.

| Species                                  | Important Breeding ground outside India   |
|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Sociable Lapwing ( Vanellus gregarious ) | Kazakhstan, Russia, etc.                  |
| Siberian Crane ( Grus antigone )         | Siberia (Russia)                          |
| Great Knot ( Calidris tenuirostris )     | Siberia, Russia,                          |
| Bar-headed Geese ( Anser indicus )       | Mangolia, China, Tibet                    |

| Little Stint ( Calidris minutq )                | Arctic Region (Siberia-Russia)                                                                       |
|-------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Spoon-billed Sandpiper ( Calidris pygmaea )     | Chukotsk peninsula and southwards to the isthmus of the Kamchatka peninsula, in north-eastern Russia |
| Baer's Pochard ( Aythya baeri )                 | Russia, China                                                                                        |
| Lesser White-fronted Goose ( Anser erythropusi) | Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, etc.                                                                |
| Amur Falcon ( Falco amurensis )                 | China, Russia                                                                                        |
| European Roller ( Coracias garrulous )          | Morocco, south-west and south-central Europe and Asia Minor                                          |
| Western Marsh Harrier ( Circus aeruginosusi)    | Western Europe (Finland, Poland, Germany, etc.), Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)               |

The important steps taken by the Government for protection of migratory birds include:

- i. Rare  and  endangered  species  of  birds  including  migratory  birds  are included  in  Schedule-I  of  the  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972 thereby according them the highest degree of protection.
- ii. Stringent punishments have been provided in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for violation of provisions of the Act.
- iii. Important  habitats  of  birds,  including  migratory  birds  have  been notified  as  Protected  Areas  under  the  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act, 1972 for better conservation and protection of birds and their habitats. Financial  assistance  is  provided  to  the  States/UT  Governments  for protection and management of wildlife and its habitats.
- iv. The  Ministry of  Environment, Forest and  Climate  Change  has prepared a 'National Action Plan for conservation of migratory birds along  the  Central  Asian  Flyway'.  This  Action  Plan  provides  for  a coordinated  approach  for  implementing  the  Action  Plan  in  all  the States and Union Territories.
- v. Focused  protection  measures  involving  the  local  communities  have been  taken  up  in  the  State  of  Nagaland  for  protection  of  Amur Falcons that  migrate to  North  East  India  on  their route  to  Southern Africa. With  the  coordinated  efforts  of  the  Forest  Department, Government  of  Nagaland,  NGO's    scientific  institutes  and  local communities,  killing  of  Amur  Falcons  have  become  'zero'  since 2013.
- vi. India  is  a  signatory  to  the  Convention  on  Migratory  Species  (CMS) and  India  has  also  signed  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU) with CMS on conservation of Siberian Cranes and Raptors.

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