The Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series titled ‘Birding in India’ focused on birds and birding opportunities in India. India’s biodiversity is one of the richest in the world. From the Himalayas, Desert, Coast, Rainforest and the tropical islands; India represents almost all ecoregion found on the planet and it is home with over 1300 exotic bird species.
The webinar was presented by Saurabh Sawant, a naturalist, wildlife photographer and a filmmaker with keen interest in studying, documenting lesser fauna. His research work mainly involves birds, amphibians & odonates. Birding is an activity which helps us to bring closer to the nature and local communities.
There are approx. 11,000 bird species around the world and more than 1300 species are found in India. Birding Tourism is a billion-dollar industry across the globe. Millions of international trips are taken every year for the main purpose of Birding and India has a huge potential due to its diverse biogeography of different terrains from Trans Himalaya to Desert, Western Ghats, Deccan Peninsula, Gangetic Plains, North-East region and Islands. India is home to approx. 91,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies. Lot of efforts are being taken at different levels by the Government and Non-Government organisations to protect the species, environment and creating awareness.
Well said “Birding is your lifetime ticket to the theatre of nature!” The formal scientific study of bird is called ‘Ornithology’ Bird watching involves identifying birds and understanding their behaviour for recreation. The fascinating hobby is becoming increasingly popular and enjoyed by all age groups.
Summing up the webinar Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General spoke about India’s biodiversity and how tourism connects us with local communities. It brings out the importance of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat connecting with different local communities, understanding the culture, cuisine etc. and the experience that a traveler gets is amazing.
