KARACHI: Migratory birds have flocked to the wetlands of Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh in greater numbers this year, and officials and observers link the increase to coronavirus lockdown measures that have kept hunters and bird catchers away.
Pakistan, which has recorded over 185,000 cases and 3,696 deaths related to the virus, lifted a month-long country-wide lockdown last month.
A survey conducted this year observed 741,042 migratory birds in Sindh province — a big jump from the 248,105 birds counted in 2019, said Sindh Wildlife Department’s provincial conservator, Javed Ahmed Mahar.
Each year, approximately 40 percent of Sindh’s wetlands are surveyed to gain insight into the migratory patterns and numbers of birds.
Migratory birds, among them pelicans, mallards, cranes and waders, stop in Pakistan on their way to and from Siberia.
Veteran Pakistani wildlife photographer Ahmer Ali Rizvi said coronavirus measures had helped the birds to settle in.
“The birds have stayed longer this year, maybe due to meagre disturbances by humans due to the lockdown everywhere,” he said.
Mahar said that Sindh authorities had not recorded any wildlife-related crimes such as trapping, hunting or illegal trading in the province since the lockdown was imposed.
Hunting has been a problem in the area, threatening several rare species, including the houbara bustard.
“The illegal trade in the domestic markets is no more,” he said.
There are more than 33 wildlife sanctuaries and one national park in Sindh, which is home to more than 300 bird species.
Migratory birds flock to Pakistan as lockdown keeps poachers at bay
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Migratory birds flock to Pakistan as lockdown keeps poachers at bay
- Migratory birds like pelicans, mallards, cranes and waders stop in Pakistan on their way to and from Siberia.
- A survey this year observed 741,042 migratory birds in Sindh — a big jump from 248,105 last year
Hundreds of migrants, including Pakistanis, land in Greece after search operation at sea
- Rescued migrants were taken to a temporary facility on Crete after reaching the port of Agia Galini
- Greece has made deportations of rejected asylum seekers a priority under its migration policy
ATHENS: Greece’s Coast Guard rescued about 540 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe’s southernmost island of Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, a Coast Guard statement said. They are all well and are being taken to a temporary facility on the nearby island of Crete after reaching the port of Agia Galini, a Coast Guard official said, adding most of the migrants were men from Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the EU’s border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women from two migrant boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek Coast Guard said.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa landed on its shores before moving on to other European countries, mainly Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, but both Crete and Gavdos — the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast — have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected asylum seekers will be a priority.
