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Important bird areas identified
JANUARY 22: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has identified 1,000 important bird areas (IBA) in the country as part of their Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) programme. IBA aims at preserving several endangered bird species for which the maintenance of proper habitat was essential, programme coordinator Supriya Jhunjhunwala said. Out of the 1,000 selected IBAs, BNHS has to further trim down the selection of most important areas and in the next two years, these habitats have to be developed and maintained to save the birds that come under red date groups as well as the common birds that are fast declining.The important features that were kept in mind while selecting the IBAs were the details of endemic bird species (historically for the last 100 years), common birds that are specific to their habitats and the places where large migratory birds congregate. "IBAs are areas of international significance for conservation of birds and their habitats and in fact, the project would contribute tothe conservation of all biodiversity since sites that are rich in birds are likely to be rich in other forms of wildlife," she said. Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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