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Birds in troubled waters in North
NOW that many oshanas and lakes in the Cuvelai Drainage System in north-central Namibia are full of water, a number of migratory water birds have flocked to these wetlands to breed.
The largest water body in the Cuvelai system is Lake Oponona, located 70 km north of Etosha National Park. Other oshanas (pans) feed the Ekuma River that flows into the Etosha Pan, which is one of Namibia’s four wetlands of global importance.
These wetlands and water birds could encourage eco tourism to the area if they are preserved and utilised in a sustainable way.
But in many parts of northern Namibia water birds are under threat from villagers who shoot them for meat. This has led to a marked decline in the number of water birds in the North.
“The law prohibits people from shooting any bird,” says the Councillor for Oshakati East Constituency, Loth Kuushomwa, who is also an avid birder.
Kuushomwa has participated in a number of wetland bird counts in the North led by the Crane Working Group of Namibia. He says traditional leaders are expected to stop the killing of water birds and overfishing.
The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) project for the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin, launched at Oshakati last December, is aimed at the sustainable use of water and other resources in the basin.
The project was launched because the basin is of crucial importance in Namibia, as about 40 per cent of the population lives in this area and the natural resources there are already severely over-stressed.
Dr Chris Brown, the Executive Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), says the Cuvelai Basin has considerable tourism potential, based on scenery, wetland, biodiversity and local culture.
The killing of migratory water birds such as flamingos (known in the north as onkalanono), Cape teal (onkololo) and grey heron (nakandunga) is just one of the many threats migratory water birds face around the world.
The flamingo is a specially protected bird in Namibia. Other specially protected birds that have been recorded in the Cuvelai area are the blue crane (critically endangered), African marsh harrier (endangered), great crested grebe (endangered) and the Maccao duck (threatened).
According to the 1975 Nature Conservation Ordinance, it is illegal to hunt any bird without a permit.
Year by year, majestic flocks of migratory birds depart on their long journeys, following the call of nature and the paths of their ancestors. To some, their journeys are long and tiring and often dangerous. Along their way migratory birds face a number of natural and man-made difficulties.
“They have to cope with scarcity of food, shrinking areas for stopover sites, predators, hostile weather, huge mountains and the expansion of the seas and deserts and other natural barriers,” says the United Nations Environment Programme-backed African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).
But human beings have created additional barriers that further make the journeys of migratory birds difficult. These barriers include power lines, television and mobile phone transmission masts, tall buildings and other structures.
Many birds, especially those that migrate during the night, do not see these structures and collide with them.
“They stay away from their regular stopover when they are covered with wind farms or get off course when attracted by lights from communication masts and towers,” says AEWA.
‘Barriers to Migration,’ is this year’s theme for the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), which is to be celebrated from May 9 to 10. The theme is aimed at raising awareness on some of the man-made barriers to migratory birds.
AEWA and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) are encouraging national authorities, non-governmental organisations, clubs and societies, universities, schools and individuals around the world to organise events and awareness-raising programmes to draw attention to the many man-made obstacles migratory birds face during their migration.
