KARACHI CHRONICLE: Birds in the urban jungle

Watching the magnificent and orderly passage of migratory birds returning to their home in the cold northern climes of the world, it was sad to see there were fewer birds in flight and that their migration began early, in the end of January. They usually begin leaving in February. What does this indicate?
According to conservationists, including World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan and Karachi University's zoology department the prime reason is the lack of water in the Indus River and the wetlands, that is the lakes and ponds. The Indus Flyway is one of seven routes around the world birds use to escape severe winters and lack of food, our avian visitors come from Russia and China and travel more than 4,500 kilometers to enter Pakistan and, following the Indus River, they travel all the way down to Karachi, stopping at more than 300 water bodies and wetlands dotting the land.
Why do they come to Karachi; it does not lie on the Indus Flyway? Karachi, it seems, is (or was) as attractive to birds as to the human migratory population. It is the warmest place in winter, it has the Malir River and it had water bodies similar to Jheel Park in a number of city areas including Orangi, North Nazimabad, New Karachi, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Manghopir which once boasted large population of birds, plus there was food in plenty.
Almost all the sources of fresh water have either dried up, or were drained to make way for the never-ending housing schemes. The result is that not only fewer birds visit the city but Karachi has lost a lot of local birds. According to a report made in the 1980s by T.J. Roberts, his checklist of birds in Sindh showed there were some 200 species. He writes that 50 percent of the species are no longer found in Karachi.
The KU experts say that birds still found abundantly in Karachi are the house sparrow, the pariah kites (eagles) the common myna, doves, cattle egrets and Indian pond heron. The koel's plaintive song in the mango season is heard less often as their numbers have also depleted. The koel is a bird of light woodlands and cultivated areas, both of which are in short supply in Karachi.
We are told that the Tower of Silence is now completely silent because there are no vultures left in Karachi. The Parsi community leave their dead on the tower for the vultures to feed on. This custom is now apparently obsolete and Parsis prefer to burn their dead.
However, I do know bodies are still left on the Tower of Silence; so without the vultures what happens to the cadaver? Does it simply rot, is the rotting flesh spreading disease and pollution? Information is not available on the issue. There is also no expert report, but common folk have noted that even the sparrow population has depleted in the city.
From the aesthetic point of view, Karachi mostly has the common and ugly birds while the beautiful colourful birds like the hoopoe, the humming bird and red-breasted fly catchers are seen on rare occasions.
It is no longer a question of can we reverse the problem and revive Karachi's local and migratory bird population. We simply have to. And we can. The proof lies in the extensive grounds of the Karachi University where the lush greenery, the forest like growth of trees, has made the place a bird sanctuary. At the KU you can see birds that are hard to find in the rest of the city. The list includes Indian robins, long-tailed bush warblers, silver bills, kingfishers and the little green bee-eater.
You get a fine bird's eyeview from the aeroplane as it begins to land in Karachi. Many people who visit the city after decades never fail to mention how green Karachi look from the sky. What they do not know, and what we Karachiites do not tell them, is that it is a fake kind of greenery that is quite useless in terms of biodiversity. (The subject can become boring for visitors to hear).
Green lawns and ornamental plants do not sustain avian life. Birds need a light forest cover and trees that bear fruit, edible pods and also support insects. But such trees are shunned by the urban planners and their garden departments. The neem for instance, is declared the tree of Sindh, yet few care to grow it in their garden and none is grown along the roadsides or in the large new parks constructed all over the city.
It is generally believed the only way to tame Karachiites and the urban jungle is by coercion. That laws if broken will lead to imprisonment, fines and probably also a lashing by the police. Is that the only way we can bring back the birds? There is another way, encourage people to grow good trees instead of those wretched lawns in their garden plots. Force the various housing societies to grow good trees. Just as the blueprint of a new building or housing scheme has to show parking area, there should be compulsory clause that so many trees have to be planted.
This is a possible solution. However, it is not going to work because good trees take time to grow while grass and ornamental trees and bushes are quickly in place. The politicians can then claim they have done much for Karachi and win votes in the next elections. Thats the hitch.