Wildlife In Cities – A Citizen’s Perspective

Announcement!
Session on 8th October 2020, 6 pm IST

A WWF EVENT
Wildlife Week 2020
Date: 8th October, 2020
Time: 6.00 pm – 7.00 pm
A session exploring the wildlife that lives around us in our cities and neighbourhoods, the role they play in the balance of a city’s ecosystem, and how they contribute to a community’s well being.

Expert : Mr. Nagesh Manay is a trustee of the PfA Wildlife Hospital, Bengaluru – one of the city’s most active Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre. The centre rescues, treats, rehabilitates and releases wildlife, working 24×7 with a team of veterinarians at the core. A lifelong backyard naturalist, Nagesh’s interests lie in the intersection of wildlife, community and design, focussed on the intimate experience of nature in the city – something he believes people of all ages must enjoy. He helps promote wildlife protection in the city.

Join Zoom Meeting (link valid on 8th October 2020 only)
https://wwf.zoom.us/j/93370712624?pwd=aXI5ZmpFeUhwUlBSM2FVRW1tVXU5Zz09
Meeting ID: 933 7071 2624
Password: 377364

A few weeks ago, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released the Living Planet Report 2020.

WWF’s flagship publication released every two years, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet. The full report may be seen and downloaded here.

The Living Planet Report 2020 is the 13th edition of the report and provides the scientific evidence to back what nature has been demonstrating repeatedly: unsustainable human activity is pushing the planet’s natural systems that support life on Earth to the edge.

Through multiple indicators including the Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), it shows an average 68% fall in almost 21,000 wildlife populations between 1970 and 2016.

The report calls on world leaders to come together to build a more sustainable, resilient and healthy post COVID-19 world for people and nature.

(Source: Living Planet Report 2020 website)

My brother Nagesh’s review of the report is carried on the WWF India website as the Living ‘City’ Report: Urban Wildlife and Community.

In it he writes:

Human actions are today uninhibited. We do what we want with a fair amount of impunity, not giving much regard to the wild animals that we coexist with. How often have we heard someone decide on not trimming a tree because black kite chose to make a nest on it? To paraphrase from the report “from now on, protecting and enhancing our environment must be at the heart of how we achieve economic prosperity”.

The full article can be read here.