Communities and the Heronries, Can They Save Each Other?

In a village in coastal Andhra Pradesh, residents say, “We chase the birds away; we cannot stand the stench from bird droppings; they also damage our crops”. In another village not far away, they say, “We pray to God for them to come; the birds bring rain to our crops, and they bring tourists”. Uppalapadu, Garapadu, Teelineelapuram, and Logisa are four villages in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh that my team leader Allwin Jesudasan and I surveyed to understand why people in some communities make an effort to protect birds, while other villages are either indifferent or chase birds away. Heronries in these villages bloom with the colourful plumage of breeding birds.

Spot-billed pelicans (Pelecanus philippensis), painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala), and Asian openbill storks (Anastomus oscitans) are three bird species which occur in large gatherings in these four villages. Depending on the local migration patterns and availability of food resources, these birds come at different times of the year (mostly in the monsoon and winter). Spot-billed pelicans and painted storks are near-threatened species, according to the IUCN, with their population declining globally. Asian openbill storks, although not threatened, are also witnessing a population decline. Painted storks and openbill storks, unlike the spot-billed pelicans, are mostly resident birds in these villages, only moving short distances in response to changes in weather or food availability or during the breeding season.

Our study looked at the “willingness of communities” to protect the ecosystem services derived from natural resources, which do not entail monetary benefits, including these heronries. We found that households that received payment from the forest department for conserving trees were less willing towards conservation of the heronries, while it was the opposite for those that didn’t receive any payment. The latter households were more willing to protect the heronries and the birds.  

  

Andhra Pradesh is known for its high production of paddy and chillies, mostly grown along the Godavari and Krishna rivers. The state is also a leader in the aquaculture industry. Both the Krishna and Godavari bring vast amounts of mineral-rich discharge downstream to the plains, which have provided ideal conditions for paddy cultivation for centuries. With the increasing demand for rice and fish year after year, more land is converted to paddy fields and aqua ponds. Massive irrigation projects on both river deltas supply continuous water to cultivated land through a series of irrigation channels. These channels run like veins through the entire stretch of the plains of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, and Guntur districts. The bountiful food resources of these areas have given Andhra Pradesh the moniker “rice bowl of India”.

Wherever there is water, there are birds. With ample food, birds congregate in large numbers. For birds like the spot-billed pelican, painted stork, and Asian openbill stork, these fertile plains and coastal wetlands are ideal places to feed. Openbill and painted storks are known to catch molluscs like snails and other invertebrates in agricultural lands. These birds also help farmers by destroying pests in the fields. However, the relationship between the birds and humans of this area is not that simple. Different villages display very different attitudes towards birds.

Uppalapadu – friends of birds

The small village of Uppalapadu in Guntur District has 14 acres of irrigation ponds, which attract birds. These are very important for the villagers as they use this water for aquaculture and daily use. The primary source of water for this irrigation pond is the Krishna River irrigation channel. In 1970, Asian openbill storks started coming here to roost and feed on the nearby fields, followed by spot-billed pelicans and painted storks in the same year. The villagers were surprised to see more and more birds coming every year. The gatherings of these birds continued until some villagers raised concerns about the foul smell of excreta and the disturbances they caused to the fish populations in the irrigation pond. With the help of the Forest Department, the villagers formed a committee which decided to partition the 14 acres of the pond, leaving 7 acres to the birds and creating artificial roosting platforms for them.

Interestingly, these birds only use the seven acres of the irrigation pond assigned to them, owing to an embankment separating the two parts. Uppalapadu has become a bird sanctuary and is famous with tourists, bird lovers, and citizens of nearby towns and cities. The income generated by tourism is, in turn, utilised for maintaining the sanctuary and development of the village.

Garapadu — foes of birds

In contrast to Uppalapadu, Garapadu is a smaller village with a large irrigation tank. Garapadu’s residents mostly depend on agriculture and, to a smaller extent, on aquaculture for their livelihood. The villagers blame openbill and painted storks for plucking young saplings of their chillies, while they blame pelicans for feeding on their fish stocks. This village once had huge trees, which provided these birds with suitable nesting sites. The villagers drove the birds and their chicks away by chopping down the trees on which they roosted. The birds found a safe refuge and new shelter in Uppalapadu village and stopped coming to Garapadu. Uppalapadu now enjoys revenue from the influx of tourists, and its villagers are proud to say that they contribute to conservation.

Teelineelapuram — reverence for birds

Teelineelapuram in Srikakulam district is one of the villages battling a newly developing coal-based power plant on the east coast. This village has had a heronry for more than 100 years, and the villagers here pray for the birds to come and nest here. Birds here feed at the nearby Kakarapally lagoon, which opens to the sea and offers ideal food resources. Like Uppalapadu and Garapadu, villagers here are mostly dependent on agriculture. The village has 120 households and a population of 850, and the residents choose not to burst firecrackers on festivals such as Diwali, so the birds are not disturbed. According to local folklore, historically, the villagers had argued and convinced the district collector to stop British administrators from shooting birds in their village. During drought, villagers pray that the birds bring rain to their lands. Besides, fish dropped by nesting birds are collected by people who have developed a taste for such fishes, especially those brought back by pelicans.

Logisa — birds are an accepted part of the landscape

Logisa village lies a few kilometres south of Teelineelapuram, in Vijayanagaram district. Here too, the main economic activity is agriculture. Around 50-100 openbill storks are known to roost and breed in their village, but the residents are indifferent to the birds and do not mind them staying. The birds benefit from the safety of the village and its nearby waterbodies.

Each of our study villages is unique — one community protects and gets revenue from the birds while the other chases them away. In another village, locals are indifferent to the birds, while the fourth village reveres them. Though the people and their occupations are similar, their attitudes and tolerance towards birds differ.

Birds require a haven to nest and raise their chicks. For this, they may occasionally travel hundreds of kilometres. They store routes in their memory and tend to return to the same sites every year, something their ancestors did too. In the process, they begin to trust the people of the areas they visit. It ultimately depends on the local people to safeguard the birds’ homes and ensure that these winged visitors survive forever.

Photo sources: paddy fields, painted storks, spot-billed pelicans, Asian openbill storks, spot-billed pelicans roosting, Dowleswaram Barrage