The International Conference on sparrows organised at St Joseph’s Arts and Science College on Tuesday brought together ideas on saving sparrows from extinction.
More than 300 delegates were at the venue aiming to facilitate specific action in promoting urban biodiversity.
Inaugurating the conference, chairman of Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd, Chandrasekhar Hariharan, said sparrows are indicators of the health of urban environment.
There is a need for focused efforts on the part of citizens instead of leaving it to activists, Hariharan opined.
Habitat recovery
Recovering the lost habitat of sparrows can be accomplished even without the presence of greenery, said Krishna M B, a senior ornithologist. He felt that the Palike should avoid removal of grass as it is a source of food for sparrows.
Aping global architecture is one of the prominent reasons for the dwindling number of birds. Architecture contributes largely in retaining endangered species, said the founder of Gubbi Labs, Sudhira.
Traditional architecture has space on window sills and on the roofs for birds to rest. There has to be a sufficient number of officials within the system who can focus on town planning. He said that town planning cannot be based on static documents but has to be people-centric, relevant to the city’s development.
The conference also saw participation of students. Many books related to the topic were also on sale.