On the occasion of World Migratory Bird Day, we organised a webinar to celebrate the majestic annual visitors of Mumbai, our very own lesser flamingos. This event was special as it enabled policy makers and activists to sit across and engage with a dialogue with each other. Moderated by award winning environment journalist Bahar Dutt, the conversation opened a discussion on different ways citizens and the government can join hands to protect the flamingo habitats of Mumbai.
The panel had some of the some of the most powerful voices working tirelessly to protect Mumbai’s biodiversity for the last many years. We had environmental advocate Ritwick Dutta, photographer and filmmaker Ashima Narain, environmentalist Stalin Dayanand and Chief Conservator of Forests, Virendra Tiwari participate in the discussion.
Some of the key highlights of the discussion were around the need for evidence-based advocacy change, bringing civil society into the movement and how to get citizens to participate in protecting Mumbai’s biodiversity.
You can watch the recording of the webinar here.
The conversation was an excellent reminder of how unique a city Mumbai is, and the many different ways citizens can work together to protect the city’s biodiversity. It reminded us how important it is to have natural spaces in our cities that protect not just flamingos but provide us the necessary buffer against rising sea levels and the threat of floods.
