BANGLADESHI SPOON BILLED SANDPIPER THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

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Spoon-billed Sandpiper on verge of extinction

By Staff Reporter

Mon, 16 Jan 2006, 11:12:00

 

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Speakers at a press conference said only 300 breeding pairs of

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, existed all over the world and immediate

conservation measures were needed to save the endangered species of

bird from extinction.

 

The press conference on 'The Survey of an Endangered Bird,

Spoon-billed Sandpiper on the Coast of Bangladesh' was held at

National Press Club in the city yesterday.

 

 

The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) and Bangladesh Bird Club

organised the press conference to clarify the purpose and scope of a

survey by an international team of experts on the coast of Bangladesh

on a globally endangered bird, Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

 

The migratory birds, most significant resources of the nature, are

unsafe in their wintering grounds including Bangladesh, Enayetullah

Khan, Chairman of the WTB said while presided over the session.

 

UNB Chairman Amanullah Khan, leader of the survey team Dr Christoph

Zockler, Tim Inskipp, an author of books on the birds and Enam Ul

Haque, National Coordinator of Asian Waterfowl Census in Bangladesh,

among others, addressed the conference.

 

Enayetullah said Bangladesh is the abode of some 700 species of birds,

among which around 300 species are migrants. These migratory birds,

most of which dwell around water bodies, are the major components of

the ecosystem.

 

Visits of these birds indicate that the health of the country's

ecosystems is still livable. If we fail to conserve these waterfowls

we would face tremendous crisis of usable water, which is the lifeline

of Bangladesh, he added.

 

He mentioned that a remarkable number of different species of birds in

the country are now on the verge of extinction, facing a multitude of

threats including being the victim of human greed.

 

Dr Zockler said Russia is the habitation of this rare species of

migratory bird. The number of this bird is declining awfully due to

some mysterious reasons.

 

He mentioned that the main purpose of the survey is to study the

important wintering area of Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Bangladesh as

well as to promote conservation of a few habitats critical for its

survival.

 

Amanullah Khan emphasised on a complete overhaul of Bangladesh

Wildlife Protection Act 1974 and said its effective implementation is

'Indispensable to safeguard our land and coasts from environmental

degradation.'

 

Spoon-billed Sandpiper is a small, 17cm, and shorebird with a

spoon-shaped bill. It inhabits the coastal areas of Bangladesh, India,

Myanmar and a few neighbouring countries in winter and breeds in

summer at Russian tundra. It feeds on very small invertebrates living

in the inter-tidal mudflat.

 

 

 

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