In a first Indian Bird Conservation Network inks MoU with colleges to conserve Loktak
Ningthoukhong, Jan 29: For the first time in Northeast, Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) Manipur on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eight colleges in northeastern border state “to protect and conserve” Loktak, largest freshwater lake in NE India as a “social and scientific responsibility.”
State Coordinator of IBCN and Principals of eight Manipur colleges which were in the vicinity of Loktak Lake were present during the signing of the MoU which was held on the sideline of a 2-day workshop on identification and counting techniques of waterbirds which is scheduled to concludes here at Mangolnganbi College Ningthoukhong premises,35 km south of Imphal today.
The eight colleges are Mangolnganbi College(Ningthoukhong),CI College(Bishnupur),Moirang College(Moirang), Kumbi College(Kumbi)Nambol L Sanoi College(Nambol),S Kula Women’s College(Nambol)-all in Bishnupur district,Mayai Lambi College(Yumnam Huidrom)and Pravabati College(Mayang Imphal)in Imphal West district.
State Coordinator of IBCN said, the initiative is to extend cooperation in research collaborations and other academic activities apart from other initiatives such as annual mid-waterbird census etc.
IBCN, Manipur which had been officially coordinating the Loktak Waterbird Census activities for the last 15 years as a part of the Asian Waterbird Count under the directive of Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Birdlife International, and Wetland International, is scheduled to conduct bird census on February 5 this year at 50 different counting site at Loktak Lake.
A total of 50,725 waterbird including migratory bird population belonging to 65 species visited the Lake in 2015 against 32,852 waterbird belonging to 57 species in 2014.
But the population of the birds visiting the lake is under active monitoring as of now even though there are reports of spotting many rare species, the state coordinator observed.
Otherwise a wetland is considered as internationally important if it supports a minimum of 20,000 populations of the waterbirds,according to Ex-Principal K Jugeshwar Singh of Kumbi College who was present in the day’s MoU signing program.
So monitoring the status of migratory waterbirds visiting the state wetlands and organising regular census is important, Jugeshwor who is also honorary wildlife warden of Manipur’s Bishnupur district,felt.
