Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues in the world. It is just over a century when the use of plastic material was conceptualized out of fossil fuel. It revolutionized medicines with life saving devices, plastic equipment was made to have clean drinking water, it made space travel so easy and most of all carry bags so easily and reasonably priced are made out of plastics. But the darker side of the use of plastic got hidden under the conveniences it offered. 40% of the plastic manufactured are single use. Once used we have to dispose it off with in a day or an hour. But the bottom line is even if you dispose, single use plastics remain in the environment for hundreds of years. Our earth cannot digest it. Discarded plastic bags and other items are easily ingested by millions of animals as well as birds.

Since October has World Migratory Bird Day. I want to highlight this year’s WMBD theme – “ Protect Birds: Be the solution to plastic Pollution” With this theme in mind I gathered some information on how plastics affect our Bird species.

Migratory birds mark the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is the celebration of the importance of migratory birds in the proper functioning of our eco-system. 12^th October 2019 was WMBD to raise awareness about the conservation of migratory birds. Bird watching hikes, workshops and presentations and movie screenings are done every year to raise awareness to curb unnecessary injuries and mortality of the migratory birds due to plastic pollution.

The role of migratory birds is very critical in maintaining our eco system, in the pollination of plants and consuming insects and small animals. These birds play an important role in linking the ecosystem as they travel for thousands of kilometres and they carry seeds and nutrients from one place to the other. Wet land coastal areas where these migratory birds rest and breed serve as bird watching spots for human beings. It enhances the eco-tourism of the country.

But there is a growing threat to the migratory birds due to plastic pollution and hunting by humans. The sharp edges of the plastic puncture the internal organs of the birds. Some die because of starvation as they feel full after consuming plastic for days. Birds mistakenly eat small particles of plastic floating in the sea water or lying in the coastal areas as it looks like food to them. Some birds die when they get entangled by plastic floating in the water.

During this southern passage and on their return journeys in spring, these birds encounter considerable hunting pressure. The death toll is staggering, with the number of migratory birds killed annually nearing 500 million. 

The UAE has been a significant part of global efforts to protect bird species, including the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention) as well as the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).

Late last year, the UAE was one of 200 parties in a meeting in Bonn that strengthened the AEWA agreement, administered by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), with 22 new resolutions, including action plans for highly threatened seabirds and guidelines for the sustainable use of waterbirds.

 On personal level we should use three Rs in our daily routine that is the most important mantra to save migratory birds—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle and refrain from using plastic products.

My research on migratory birds led me to visit Wild life sanctuary in Dubai. It is called Ras al Khor Wild life Sanctuary, meaning “Cape of the Creek” in Arabic.

Watching Migratory birds was a unique experience for me. The sanctuary is one of the few urban protected areas and very well maintained natural wetland, covering  an area of 6.2sqkm and featuring  a variety of salt flats, intertidal mudflats, mangroves, and lagoons that birds use for their nests and individual habitats. The place is home to more than 20,000 birds of 67 species.

The visit to this unique unspoiled wet land was a dream come true for me. I wish our bird species do not need any protected areas to survive. Whole world should serve as a plastic free habitat for them. After all, the continuous migration of the birds are symbolic of the health of our earth.

Credits – National Geographic, wwf.org.au