Birds threatened by Dhaka’s dwindling greenery

Rumi Ahsan (pseudonym) lives in Tolarbagh, Mirpur of the capital. There used to be a custard apple tree in the house next door and every day two beautiful birds would sit on the branches of the tree and peck at the fruit. The tree was cut down around ten years ago and so the birds no longer are seen. This former teacher of Dhaka University often remembers those two birds with a tinge of sadness.

Over the past four decades, most of Dhaka's water bodies have been filled up, rivers and the air are being increasingly polluted, parks are being destroyed and the green spaces of the city are steadily shrinking. Bird experts say that birds are gradually losing their natural habitat and even food in the city because of unplanned urbanisation and other factors.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Dhaka was a beautiful canvas composed of wetlands, jungles, parks, gardens and grassy spaces. Alongside city birds like crows, kites and pigeons, the city also abounded with birds such as rails, storks, cranes, eagles, buzzards, hawks, owls, herons and egrets.

According to local bird experts, the large wetlands surrounding Dhaka, such as Belai, Shaldaha, Laban Dhola, Dhola Samudra, and Arial Beel, were once famous for water birds The filling up of these wetlands has caused a serious disruption to bird habitats. As a result, these birds are now facing a food crisis.

Obaidul Haque, a bird enthusiast and Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Dhaka, notes that Dhaka is encircled by four rivers -- Buriganga, Shitalakshya, Turag and Balu. Just four decades ago, vast wetlands stretched around these rivers. Dhaka’s bird ecosystem was built around these wetlands, its suburbs, city parks and gardens and even two- or three-storey buildings. But the wetlands are now being rapidly filled in and the suburbs are being drawn into the city.

There was a time when the selling of birds was a brisk business in Old Dhaka, because birds were a part of the city’s social and cultural ethos. But that no longer exists. Birds are now afraid of the people of Dhaka. The city’s birds are under threat.

A 2024 research report by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), a professional body of urban planners, states that in 1995, wetlands made up more than 20 per cent of Dhaka’s total area. That has now shrunk to just 2.9 percent. Over the past three decades, nearly 86 per cent of wetlands in the two city corporation areas of Dhaka have been filled in.

Even in the 1990s, residents of Kazipara and Shewrapara would wake up to the sound of birdsong. In Pallabi, weaver birds (babui) and sparrows used to hop around in the yards of the two- and three-storey houses. In winter’s sunrays, birds would play and bathe in pairs in the rooftop water tanks. This was an everyday scene in Mirpur, then a suburb of Dhaka.

In just two decades, Mirpur’s suburban landscape has been transformed. Gleaming commercial buildings and high-rise apartment blocks have taken over. The greenery has shrunk, now largely confined to the Botanical Garden and the Mirpur Zoo. Birds are gradually vanishing from homes in Mirpur.

A recent visit to areas like Tolarbagh, Bangla College, Lal Kuthi, Martyred Intellectuals’ Graveyard, Commerce College, Rainkhola, Arambagh, Pallabi and Kazipara–Shewrapara, and conversations with local residents, reveal that up to the 1990s, these parts of greater Mirpur still provided a bird-friendly environment.

Danny Rahman, a long-time resident of Tolarbagh in Mirpur, says, “We’ve lived in this area permanently since the early 1990s. When we built our house, we left some open space around the plot. We planted guava and drumstick (moringa) trees in that open space. Some greenery still survives at Bangla College. The wetland behind the college was filled in only recently. The structure of our house is still intact, and even now birds regularly come to our rooftop for the ripe guavas and nectar of the moringa flowers.”

Bengali literature is replete with stories of the bond between urban dwellers and birds in Dhaka. Writer, thinker and intellectual Ahmad Sofa used to have mynahs and parrots. He would walk around Dhaka with a parrot perched on his shoulder. In his memoirs, he lovingly referred to his bird as a “son” and wrote, “I am deeply indebted to my bird-son. What the bird has taught me, no great book, philosophical treatise, or sage’s words ever could.”

But today, one of the most endearing characters in Dhaka’s urban scene, the bird, is increasingly fearful of people.

Mohammad Azizul Alam, a resident of Shekhertek in Mohammadpur, had gone to his village home in Bheramara, Kushtia, with his family during the pandemic. His wife had left an empty birdcage on the balcony. From time to time, Azizul would travel back to Dhaka for work. One day, on a whim, he went over to the cage on the balcony and saw two birds flapping their wings as they flew away. Recently Azizul recalled, “The birds never came back. I still think about those frightened birds. Birds in Dhaka are afraid of people.”

A large part of Dhaka's greenery comprises parks and gardens. There are around seven large gardens in this concrete city. The National Botanical Garden is 208 acres, Chandrima Udyan 74 acres, Ramna Park 69 acres, Suhrawardy Udyan 68 acres, Osmani Udyan 23 acres, Bahadur Shah Park around 24 acres and Baldha Garden 3.38 acres.

A few other parks in the city include Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park, Lake Park, Baridhara's Lake View Park and others. Then other green spaces include the Dhaka University area, the zoo area, the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) area and Dhanmandi Lake. These places are known as bird habitats. But at state initiative, parks and gardens are steadily being destroyed.

A section of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway will run from Hatirjheel through Panthakunja Park to Palashi. For this project, the previous Awami League government destroyed two-thirds of Panthakunja Park. Most of the trees were cut down. Visiting the park now, one sees it barely surviving. It is in a totally dilapidated state. Several pillars of the expressway stand inside the park.

Bangladesh Gaach Rakkha Andolan (Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement) carried out a sustained campaign demanding a halt to the construction of the expressway’s link road that destroyed the park. Braving Dhaka’s intense heat, the activists camped in the park grounds for 168 consecutive days.

Amirul Rajib, coordinator of the organisation, said, “Weary travellers used to find rest in the green shade of the park. The entire area would be alive with the chirping of birds. See how cruelly the grazing grounds of birds have been destroyed in a state-sponsored project. This is a criminal offence. In any other civilized country, those responsible would face severe punishment. The current government has not taken any initiative to discuss park preservation with us.”

Anwara Udyan, a place of relief for city dwellers located in Farmgate, Dhaka, has also disappeared. The entire park is now devoid of trees. There are no signs of greenery left. A recent visit to the park showed ongoing work to remove Metro Rail structures from the site.

Urban parks in the city are falling under concrete at the behest of state initiatives. The latest example is Suhrawardy Udyan. Under the third phase of the Independence Monument construction project, many trees large and small have already been cut down throughout the park. Many more trees have been marked for felling. Concrete is increasing. Birds are losing their habitat.

“Food supply must be ensured if we are to ensure a habitat for birds. We are beautifying Dhaka roads with imported trees, but these trees neither flower nor bear fruit. Therefore, birds do not settle on them. Modern apartment buildings lack balconies and green spaces. Most rooftops are locked. If trees bear no flowers or fruit, birds will turn away from the city,” said Asker Ibn Firoz. He has been making the first documentary film on Dhaka birds for almost one and a half years.

He added that more than two hundred species of birds are still seen in Dhaka. Doel (magpie robin), bulbul, cuckoo, red-vented bulbul, shalik, munia, niltuni (blue-tailed bee-eater), woodpecker, basantbauri (spring migratory birds), fishing eagles, holde bou (yellow-breasted bird) and harichachas (waterbirds), among others, are found throughout the city. Three species of shalik, parakeets, owls, doel and owl species are still sighted in Dhaka. They are adapting quickly to this brick-and-concrete city. But without greenery and food, birds will soon turn away.

Birds move around freely in a vibrant city. Their chirping stirs nostalgia, offers a pause for reflection. But in Dhaka, greenery is vanishing fast.
According to urban planning standards, an ideal city should have at least 25 per cent green space. However, research by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) shows that in 1995, Dhaka had more than 52 square kilometers of green and open space. That figure has now shrunk by nearly 43 per cent, down to about 30 square kilometers. As a result, birds are rapidly losing their habitats. In addition, noise, air and light pollution are making it difficult for birds to thrive in Dhaka.

Wildlife researcher Simanta Dipu notes, “The most alarming issue is that the population of crows, one of Dhaka’s most beneficial birds, is declining rapidly. A major cause is avian influenza. In our country, poultry often dies from bird flu and the carcasses are discarded indiscriminately. Crows feed on them and die in large numbers. Although this hasn’t been scientifically confirmed across the board, we’ve found evidence in some areas.”

He adds, “There is some hope, though. Several bird species have learned to quickly adapt to hostile environments. Kites, parrots and owls have learned to nest in niches and crevices of tall buildings. You can still spot spring migrants like the basantabauri and bulbuls in the large banyan trees scattered across Dhaka. Sparrows and munias have also adapted quickly to city life.”

This researcher from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) further states, “We must first instill the awareness among citizens that Dhaka belongs not just to humans, but to birds as well. It’s quite easy to ensure bird-friendly environments in the city’s parks and gardens. Parts of parks can be left as patches of shrubs and undergrowth to help birds nest. Grassy meadows in parks can be planted with seed-bearing grasses to meet their food needs. In ponds, lakes, and wetlands that still exist in the city, a portion should be preserved in a natural, swampy state. This would allow water birds like moorhens, jacanas, herons, and cormorants to return. And in the open spaces still available in housing projects across the city, we should plant local fruit and flower trees. This would address both the food and shelter needs of birds."