S1E122: Why birds are an indicator of the changing face of Earth

Migratory species are broadly in decline, disrupted by alteration
of field and forest habitats, and by hunting in the case of
South-east Asia.


Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits
Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from
biodiversity conservation to climate change.


The East Asian migratory bird flyway is perhaps the most diverse
of the world's nine north-south migratory bird flyways, with
millions migrating north to south, from freezing latitudes to
warmer climates - some shorebirds even fly down to as far as
Australia. 


But migratory species are in deep trouble; a recent UN report
revealed that nearly half of the world's migratory species are
declining in population. Habitat loss has been affecting up to 75
per cent of them. 


The state of birds is one indicator of how humans have altered
the environment, largely due to infrastructure developments
transforming landscapes. Fragmentation and loss of habitats are
key issues for migratory shorebirds as their coastal feeding
areas on mud flats along the East Asian seaboard are being
reclaimed. 


In this episode of Green Pulse, Thailand-based Philip Round,
regional representative of the Wetland Trust and associate
professor at the Department of Biology at Mahidol University, and
Singapore-based Yong Ding Li, regional coordinator at BirdLife
International, join co-host Nirmal Ghosh to talk about what birds
are up against. 


Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):


6:06 Why rice growing is making it difficult for birds to thrive


14:58 Hunting happens on a large scale for the pet bird industry
in various parts of Southeast Asia  


20:12 How the use of netting to protect crops, particularly
aquaculture ponds, becomes accidentally fatal to birds


24:04 Many government agencies in Southeast Asia are inadequately
resourced to enforce conservation measures. 


26:02 Bright spots on conservation for migratory birds 


Listen to related podcasts on birds: 


A visit to Sungei Buloh: How Singapore can better host migratory
birds:
https://omny.fm/shows/green-pulse-1/a-visit-to-sungei-buloh-how-singapore-can-play-a-b


Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Lynda Hong,
Fa'izah Sani and Hadyu Rahim


Edited by: Hadyu Rahim


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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg


Read ST's Climate Change microsite:
https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change


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Special edition series:


True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T


The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5
eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2


Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn


Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB


Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa


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section:


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Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX


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