The health of the wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir is not good, says the latest findings of the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), which recently conducted a two-week long census at key wetlands in the state. This survey was jointly done by Wetlands International, state wildlife department, WWF-India and the Wildlife Conservation and Birds of Ladakh (WCBCL).
According to state wildlife department officials, the AWC is a part of global international waterbird census, and during the survey they have found that many wetlands need immediate conservation so that waterbirds get their due space.
Dr Pankhaj Chandan of WWF-India, who coordinated the survey in J&K, told the media that the information generated by their survey will aid the conservation and management strategies of the wetlands. According to state wildlife officials, who were accompanying the survey team, the team expressed shock over the condition of the Gharana wetland in RS Pora. The Gharana wetland in RS Pora, Jammu, is under threat and the officials said that vey soon they will start its conservation programme.
Many research scholars from the Jammu University were also a part of the survey, according to the wildlife officials. However, in the Mansar and Suransar lakes, the team recorded a good number of waterbird species in the current month of January.