It's myopic to justify conserving a species only for its usefulness to humankind: Mohammad Dilawar

On the occasion of World Sparrow Day, we got in touch with Mohammad Dilawar, founder of Nature Forever Society (NFS). NFS has been working for the past decade to fight and reverse the decline of the sparrow population in the country. World Sparrow Day is an international initiative launched by NFS to achieve this goal, and Dilawar has been the engine powering and channeling the efforts.

What got you interested in the plight of sparrows?
I had grown up seeing sparrows all around me. By the late 90s, many groups and environmentalists had started to notice the declining population of vultures, but the damage was already done. Around the same time, a report from the United Kingdom stated that the sparrow population was declining there. That was when I realised the suddenly conspicuous decline of sparrow sightings. So, I knew that we could still salvage this situation before the sparrow shared the vulture's fate.

Why are sparrows important to the eco-system?
Sparrows usually exist in numerous flocks and maintain a very significant balance in the avian world. Since they exist in such big numbers, they act as a prey base for birds like kites, eagles and other raptors. Besides this, sparrows prey on insects and keep their population under control.
It's a very myopic vision though, to justify conserving a species plainly for its usefulness to humankind. Can you imagine how big a role sparrows play in giving the urban dweller a glimpse of the natural world, in his own surroundings? Sparrows were thought to be incredibly resilient but our new methods of development are so unsustainable that even the sparrow cannot prevail over them.

Has the sparrow population been restored to some extent over this past decade?
The problem with sparrows is that unlike tigers, they cannot be easily counted and kept track of. That said, in recent times, certain methodologies are being used to keep track of them. Sparrows as a species do not travel more than 1 km in their lifespan, which makes the task more difficult.
There has been a steady increase in citizens' participation for the cause, so we have seen a slight boost in the existing population, but there is still a long way ahead. I had started NFS almost single-handedly, but now our membership extends to more than 10,000, which bodes well for the future of the bird.

What are the factors contributing to the bird's decline?
The biggest factor is the current path of development we have adopted. It is extremely unsustainable and it is imperative that the government looks into modifying policies to also include the bio-diversity of the country. For instance, what is the need for glass and aluminum facades for buildings in India? We are tropical country, glass facades increase the heat inside the buildings, which results in increased air conditioning, that also eats up energy resources.

Better known factors are the loss of nesting space and diet.
There are also many non-native plants that are imported into the country. These are not suited to the local insects and some of these are poisonous as well. There is also an increased use of pesticide and insecticide, which is toxic to sparrows.

Nature Forever Society graces three non-professional conservationists with the Sparrow Award to every year on World Sparrow Day, with the aim to encourage more citizens to take the initiative and conserve the biodiversity around them. This is the sixth World Sparrow Day and Dilawar hopes that the Sparrow will soon be restored to healthy numbers. Currently Sparrows are listed under 'least concern' on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (ICUN) Red List.