It is important to remember conservation is a collective effort, the more people involved in the actions geared towards conservation of natural resources and specifically avian life, the more scalable the impact. Therefore, participating in public awareness campaigns, speaking to friends, relatives and even strangers can go a long way in raising awareness about the imminent danger to avian life and the disruption it causes to natural ecosystems. Recruiting your next-door neighbors through some old-fashioned convincing can be the game changer the conservation effort needs.
Category: News Updates
Proper Waste Management
Waste management has a wide-range of implications on huma wealth, water resources, water and environmental quality and consequently, bird life. Scavengers such as vultures, raptors and marabou storks are attracted to waste in search of food, however, without proper waste management systems and plan, waste can expose these birds to threats of poisoning and pose dangers to their life. Actions such as recycling plastic and proper disposal of waste are some actions the average person can take to contribute to conserving biodiversity and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Protect Wetlands
A significant number of bird species are wetland dependent such as Kingfishers, warblers, weavers and many others. In Uganda, wetland cover (Uganda Wetlands Atlas Volume II Popular Version) is about 11% of the land area but has been reducing at an alarming rate as reported that wetland cover fell by 30% between 1994 and 2008. This is terrible news for bird life avianconservationugsociety .The Uganda Wildlife Authority works hand in hand with National Environmental Management Authority to protect wetlands which serve as vital habitat for the survival of the wide range of bird species that call them home. However, since conservation is a collective effort, private sector organizations as well as individuals have a critical role to play in the protection of wetlands and the consequential preservation of bird life, therefore wise use of wetlands is one way anyone can participate in bird life conservation.
Plant Indigenous Trees
Trees are a massively important habitat for birds. However, it’s not just any trees. Birds always prefer indigenous trees of the area they inhabit for example pine trees and eucalyptus trees are not indigenous to the Great lakes’ region of East Africa and therefore birds hardly use these trees as habitat. Therefore, efforts to restore bird habitat through forest restoration must emphasize planting indigenous trees such as fabaceae family trees, morace family trees and other indigenous fruiting trees
Adopting Sustainable on-farm Techniques
Bird life reports that over 180 (70+%) bird species of the 1477 bird species in Africa are threatened by irresponsible farming techniques. Farmers are at the forefront of dealing with loss and degradation of habitat since they command the lion’s share of the land use in Uganda. With 88% living in rural areas and engaged in Agricultural, the optimal strategy to combat habitat loss, modification and degradation is to involve farmers to engage in bird-friendly farming techniques such as using organic inputs, planting fruit trees such as mangoes, guavas, avocado and rotational mowing, making bird-friendly hay and pasture and others.