Mysuru: In the days to come Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary will be upgraded to international standard said Forest Minister Ramanath Rai.
Speaking after inaugurating the Karnataka Bird Festival, which is first of its kind South India and which will be an annual festival in days to come he said “Already the sanctuary is being attracting people not only, from across the country but also from many foreign countries. Apart from this, every year many migratory birds too come here. So keeping all this in mind, all efforts will be made to make it international standard”. He also mentioned that many rare birds are on verge of extinction and all efforts should be made to preserve and protect them. “In days to come not only the number of bird watchers will increase at the same time, the birds will also be protected” said Ramanath Rai.
Vinay Luthra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief of Wildlife Warden of Karnataka, during his keynote address said “The festival aims to put the focus on Birds and Bird watching in Karnataka. The interest in wildlife and visitation to wildlife parks has grown manifold in the recent years. Bangalore is known to be the city with the maximum number of nature enthusiasts and wildlife photographers. The Bird festival also aims to put Bird Conservation on the center-stage and raise the attention of nature enthusiasts and general public towards the significance of Birds and the important role they play in the ecosystem. In Karnataka we have 520 different species of birds but when compared to America and Europe we are not good bird watchers. America earns nearly 80 million through its record number of 4 million bird watchers which is also a bit similar in Europe. In recent years, bird watchers in India are also picking up; it is expected that by 2025, we may see nearly 80 million bird watchers in the country. Hence these sort of festivals will definitely help to reach those targets”.
He also mentioned that the Karnataka State has already achieved the distinction of having the highest population of both Tigers and Elephants in the country and now the time has come to put birds in the centre-stage through this festival.
The main objective of the festival is to raise the profile of Karnataka State, as a Bird-watching destination, create awareness of nature enthusiasts, general public and also policy makers on the importance of Bird Conservation, provide a platform for well known researchers, experts, forest officers, bird photographers who will be giving talks, to provide the right stimulation and influence the policy makers and Forest officers to focus on Bird Conservation and to provide a networking opportunity for nature enthusiasts and bird-watchers. During the three day festival, there will be five components like Bird Photo Exhibition, Talks and slide presentations by well-known experts and Naturalists, Workshops on Bird Photography and other specialized topics by experts, Bird Race and Bird Quiz for young adults and children and Guided Bird-watching walks.
Experts having experience in the field like Vinay Luthra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Rohit Varma, founder Nature InFocus, Director Social Media Week, Sarath Champati, Lead Trainer and Advisor for Karnataka Eco-Tourism Board will be delivering talks on various interesting topics. CS Puttaraju, Member of Parliament, also requested the minister to improve sanctuary to international standard.
Participants not only from across the state but also from other states are taking part in the festival. Nature enthusiasts and photographers, bird-watchers, policy makers and forest officers are among the participants. Many IT professionals who have chosen bird watching and photography as their stress buster were also among the participants.
