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- Title
Using ecology-with-cities approaches to guide conservation of urban heronries in India.
- Authors
Roshnath, R.; Sinu, Palatty Allesh
- Abstract
Heronries are the communal nesting sites of water birds, including herons, egrets and cormorants. As top predators, these birds have crucial food web roles and affect nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. Yet, when they nest in the vicinity of cities, towns, and villages, the public often perceives them as a nuisance. Therefore, effectively conserving such urban biodiversity should consider "ecology with cities" strategies that aim to engage members of the public in ways that assess and develop support and cooperation for protecting species. Using surveys to gather information about local residents' attitudes toward urban species can be used to advance complementary conservation, education and public engagement goals. Here, we describe efforts to understand local knowledge and attitudes toward participatory conservation of heronries in Northern Kerala, India and use this information to frame and inform conservation policies and management. Among the respondents, more than half were aware that nesting bird populations have been steadily declining (57%) and are legally protected (53%) but a majority of the respondents (65%) believed that these resident heronry birds are migratory. Bird droppings, smell and noise were the reasons for people's negative attitudes toward the birds. Despite such concerns, most of the respondents (75%) believed that they must be conserved. The major policy outcome of the survey is the recommendation that city authorities should construct physical barriers to alleviate the negative sentiments of the public and consider declaring heronry sites as local heritage sites. Due to a majority of the public being unfamiliar with heronry birds' status and ecological roles, we recommend increasing awareness among all city inhabitants as an invaluable conservation measure.
- Subjects
INDIA; URBAN biodiversity; URBAN ecology; TOP predators; BIRD populations; WATER birds; PUBLIC spaces; PUBLIC opinion
- Publication
Urban Ecosystems, 2024, Vol 27, Issue 3, p733
- ISSN
1083-8155
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11252-023-01473-2