Birds Connect our World
by Eric Wikramanayake
Covid-19 is a stark indicator of how connected our world has become. Racing across the globe in a few months, leaving behind a wake of death and despair, this virus has taken advantage of the global connectivity that has brought the world closer, especially with the advent of air travel.
But while this anthropogenic connectivity has taken off, ecological connectivity that keeps the Earth running in good order is being severed. Forests are being converted and fragmented, rivers and streams no longer flow as they used to, and wetlands that store water and connect the land and sea are disappearing. The world’s natural connections are disconnecting.
This trend is best illustrated by the long-distance bird migrations. As with other animals such as the wildebeest migrations in East Africa or the great whales in our oceans, hundreds of species of birds, many very small, undertake annual migrations over thousands of miles to escape harsh weather, find food, and mate. But these ecological phenomena that took tens of thousands of years to evolve are now collapsing. Bird populations are rapidly declining, and many species are close to extirpation and extinction. In a sense, what’s happening to the bird migrations is indicative of what’s happening to our world — our home — which is coming apart. We have to fix it if we, and the planet, are to survive.
The dangers of a degrading planet and the threats posed to human society are supported by a growing body of science-based evidence. The latest Living Planet Report, which tracks the abundance of nearly 21,0000 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world, shows global populations of vertebrate species have declined by an average of 68 per cent since 1970. And freshwater biodiversity is declining at a far faster rate than in oceans or on land.
Covid-19 has exposed our vulnerability and shows this is no longer nebulous, alarmist talk. As humans encroach, clear, and intrude into the few remaining natural areas, it brings us ever closer to wildlife carrying potentially dangerous pathogens that can spark other epidemics. Degradation of these ecosystems allows commensal animals that are more prone to carry disease-causing pathogens to proliferate. The dire situation will become even more so as climate change accelerates and intensifies. Even the more cautious and conservative world bodies that define and formulate public health guidelines and safeguards are now warning against further harming and degrading the remaining natural ecosystems.
October 10 marks the second World Migratory Bird Day of 2020. For two days each year — the second Saturdays of May and October — we celebrate the long-distance bird migrations, symbolic of the arduous and perilous return journeys these small birds undertake each year from their summer breeding grounds in the north to the warmer, over-wintering areas in the south. Two days to reflect, take stock and bring attention to the real and urgent threats to birds and their habitats that may cause these migrations to collapse, and to raise awareness of these issues and inspire people around the world to take appropriate conservation measures. But its these very same threats of ecosystem loss and degradation that will also affect human communities. Thus, any remedial conservation action to sustain the millions of birds and their migrations will also safeguard the well-being of billions of people.
Despite being a spatial pinpoint along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway — the ‘flight path’ that extends for over 13,000 kilometres from the Arctic Circle to as far south as Australia and New Zealand at the extreme ends — Hong Kong has a critically important role to play in sustaining these migrations. The wetlands of Mai Po and the Inner Deep Bay are an important stop for some of the 50 million-plus birds that traverse the flyway each year. Unlike the travels of Covid 19, the migrations of the birds are an indicator of a healthy planet.
But the future of the migration is in peril. Over the past several decades there has been a measurable decline in the numbers of birds that join the migration; a decline attributed mostly to extensive loss of wetlands along the flyway as people convert them to other uses, driven by the feverish push for economic development that extends up to, and even beyond natural coastlines, and pollute them with chemicals and plastics. Over 80 per cent of East and Southeast Asia’s wetlands are now classified as threatened due to human activities. In Hong Kong, rapid urbanisation is destroying our green spaces and wetlands, which are vital to protecting our city from rising sea levels.
These are indications that the planet is degrading and disconnecting. Indicators that humanity is also being pushed to a tipping point of exposure to dangerously declining environmental conditions and services they provide. Water is an important one, and wetlands are an important source.
The theme for October’s World Migratory Bird Day is, rather appropriately, ’Birds Connect Our World’. So, let us celebrate and bring attention to this wonderous phenomenon of Nature, the long-distance migrations undertaken by millions of birds each year and focus on connecting our world the way it should be connected. To make it a safer place for all; Nature and People. Let’s act to save the remaining wetlands at home and along the flyway. To pledge not to use and strew plastic into the environment. To spend more time outdoors and appreciate and enjoy the natural world. To be in awe of the wonder of evolution that has created this diversity. To promise to protect it for future generations to enjoy and live in peace.
Eric Wikramanayake is Director of Wildlife & Wetlands at WWF-Hong Kong.
